Trucks weighbridge operations to resume
MBABANE - Trucks ferrying sugar and mining products will soon be weighed in accordance to the standards of Eswatini.
Some of the weighbridge facilities in the country are not operational, which posed a risk to the road infrastructure, especially main roads.
The Government of Eswatini has since approved and verified weighbridges associated with the sugar industry, mining, construction and other sectors. It was not revealed when the operations would resume, but the logistics sector was assured that it would happen in the current financial year. This was done through inspections to protect consumers and traders.
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade Weights and Measures Department was tasked with achieving the realisation and dissemination of national measurements to all related standards for traceability purposes. This was disclosed by the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo, in the first quarter performance report of the ministry.
He said they were tasked to provide metrological calibrations, inspections and verification services to related sectors and products across the country and economy. To achieve this task, the Department of Weights and Measures assessed all weighbridges in different sectors to check if they comply with the requirements of the regulations.
Khumalo said the weighbridges are scattered across the four regions of the country and those found to be working outside the maximum permitted error (MPE) were re-calibrated and re-verified. “These big scale weighbridges are scaled and marked with a green sticker for owners, traders and consumers to know their status,” he said.
The minister also mentioned that the department was tasked with achieving the global facilitation of trade concerning measured traded goods.
He said they managed to verify filling station pumps and discovered that 30
557.44 per month.
Worth noting, ESPPRA and the government have collaborated to introduce an electronic government procurement system as well as a directory for suppliers; both entities said this would be beneficiary for businesses and further promote efficiency. They also said they aimed at decreasing the number of procurement defaults and limiting the outsourcing of services.
Tenders
This is in line with the provision and procurement of tenders in the public procurement regulations, which state that transparency is key in the evaluation of tenders in public procurement. Meanwhile, ESPPRA CEO Vusumutiwendvodza Matsebula mentioned that unless these gaps and shortcomings were corrected, the public procurement system in Eswatini would remain inefficient, thus causing mistrust between the government and the general public. He said it was important to state that this milestone has been the result of a collaborative effort, support and commitment by different procurement professionals from within both public entities and of the pumps were non-compliant with the metrology requirements. Khumalo attested that those which did not comply were closed and ordered to be recalibrated before further use. He outlined that the promotion of International System of Units (SI) was also a task for the department and they calibrated the volumetric standard measures belonging to fuel retailing companies. They were adjusted until they complied with the regulation.
Speed
A new digital information system to monitor and speed up cross-border truck movements and driver health checks at land borders in eastern and southern Africa has been launched at Tlokweng Border Post in Botswana.
Trucks travelling to and from Eswatini transporting goods and trade will now be monitored at entry and exit points across all border gates.
This will also revamp the truck weigh system to see if the trucks are still importing or exporting quality goods in the appropriate quantities. The Minister of Public Works and Transport, Chief Ndlaluhlaza Ndwandwe, last year mentioned that the country was working on upgrading the usage of roads by cross-border trucks. He said there were projects in place to improve roadworthiness and systems that control the movement of goods.
private sector organisations, and they were forever grateful for their contribution to the development of the SBDs. “The agency in 2019 started the journey towards the development of these standard bidding documents, which has brought us together today. “This is part of the agency’s bid to provide standardised documents as currently existing bidding documents used by different procuring entities are not harmonised, which opens room for non-compliance, unsatisfactory adjudication of tenders and misinterpretation of obligations by both tenderers and procuring entities,” he added. MTC was the procuring entity for the tender, which was approved by the authority of the Board.
Review
MTC requested unsuccessful bidders to apply for review with the agency within 10 working days. “All tenderers who submitted bids are hereby notified that a period of 10 working days is hereby allowed for submission of any application for review,” said MTC. The agency also mentioned that the tender does not constitute a contract.