JUNE 2013
14
conference
I
t was also a time to be heard and dabble in some hot
debating around issues from fuel and infrastructure
funding, to hearing about the aftermath of the
Lonmin massacre.
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe presented the
keynote address at this year’s RFA Convention. The RFA
emphasised the strong relationship it had built with the
deputy president during the extensive lobbying process
around the toll roads during 2012, and welcomed his
input during the conference.
SMARTer Trucking
The RFA’s Convention, themed ‘SMARTer Trucking’,
held at the Hans Merensky hotel in Limpopo, was the
forum for road freight operators to update themselves
on what is happening in the trucking industry.
This year’s conference line-up included:
Lonmin – the Aftermath and its Effects by Eusebius
McKaiser – political and social analyst, best-selling author
and activist.
Climate Change – an inconvenient reality – Al Gore’s
latest presentation, presentedby Joanne LeeCarty,Manager:
Food & Trees for Africa.
Economic overview – Mike Shussler, Director
Economists.co.za
Transportation and Logistics 2030: New Hubs, New
Spokes, New Industry Leaders? Key Findings for the Road
Freight Industry by Andrew Shaw – Associate Director for
Capital Projects and Infrastructure: PWC.
In addition, three panel sessions gave participants the
opportunity to ask their questions, raise concerns, speak
out and make their voices heard.
Infrastructure Funding – More Taxes, More Tariffs
or Privatisation? A panel discussion facilitated by TV
news anchor Jeremy Maggs, with Dennis Dykes (Chief
Economist: Nedbank, Ravi Naidoo – Group Executive,
Development Planning Division: Development Bank of
Southern Africa, Yogesh Nasingh – National Planning
Commission, Sizwe Nxedlana – Chief Economist: First
National Bank and Mike Schüssler – Economists.co.za
A Fuel Supply Panel Discussion with Liesl de Wet –
Sustainability Manager: Barloworld Logistics, Desmond
Gird – General Manager, Supply Chain, Procurement
and Supply: Sasol, Christo Kleynhans – Mercedes-Benz
of SA, Dave Wright – Director and Special Advisor to
the MD and CEO: Engen and Raymond Abraham –
Commercial Technical Manager: Shell. This discussion
tackled the Clean Fuels Bill, availability of supply of
clean fuels and cost implications for the road freight
industry, among other related matters.
SMART Technologies in Trucking: Panel Discussion:
Bigger, wider, heavier, with more payload and even
better efficiencies, SMART trucks use cutting-edge
technology beyond efficiency gains and cost reductions,
with improved road safety, driver wellness and road
stability, as well as reduced impact on roads and lower
carbon emissions.
This session focused on the technologies and innovations
behind success stories. The panel included Gert Brits
– General Manager, Mining at Unitrans, Brian Hunt –
Timber Logistics Services, Adrian van Tonder – Senior
Manager, Business Development: Barloworld Logistics,
Eric Aspeling – General Manager Logistics & Fibre Supply:
Sappi and Francois Ehlers – Technical Director: IMPERIAL
Logistics. This session was facilitated by Paul Nordengen
– Research Group Leader: Network Asset Management
Systems, CSIR.
The RFA enjoys a strong
relationship with Deputy
President, Kgalema
Motlanthe, owing to
his involvement in the
extensive lobbying
process around the toll
roads during 2012.
