Foreign truck drivers working for South African freight companies are required to have valid working permits and if they do not, insurance companies are legally not obliged to pay out claims in the event of an accident.

This is according to Gavin Kelly, CEO, Road Freight Association who was speaking to Lester Kiewit, host of radio show Good Morning Cape Town. 

Kelly was answering the question on whether or not a foreign national from a neighbouring country would need to have a work permit to work as a driver for a South African company even if the driver has a SADC licence that is recognised in the country. 

Kelly said that it is illegal for a foreigner to be in the country without the correct visa/entry permit and it is also illegal to employ foreigners in a South African company without the necessary work permit or special permit/visa.

“If an insurance policy states that employees including drivers must meet all legal requirements - then the insurer has the right to repudiate a claim if this part of the contract is not complied with,” Kelly said. 

“Work permits ensures that all employees are registered with the relevant Council, receive the minimum benefits and wages, and all employment opportunities that are available are made available to qualifying South African citizens first.”

According to Kelly, freight drivers that are transporting goods from one country to another country are only required to be employed legally where the company is registered. 

For example, if a driver is hauling freight across borders from South Africa to Namibia, then the driver is required to be employed by the South African company. 

The driver is only allowed to enter the other country if it is a part of their work and if the contract with their employer has stipulated it.

Depending on the country, the driver will have a number of days to pick up the load and come back to South Africa. 

SADC countries

According to Kelly, SADC licences are recognised as the National Road Traffic Act makes specific allowances for this.

“Foreign nationals who come in on tourist visas can drive hired vehicles or their own if the are resident in neighbouring countries,” Kelly said.

“Foreigners who in the cause of their employment by companies outside of South Africa are authorised to drive the categories of vehicle used to transport goods into, and out of, South Africa."

While he did not specify what other changes may come into effect, he did say over the next three years the changes would result in 50,000 fewer SOWPs being issued to the spouses of international students, as per the CIC news report.

Hi everyone, I am sharing this to clear up any misunderstanding in this regard 

The ZEP waiver for general work visa applications issued /signed by current Minister on 6 August 2024 is not a blanket waiver. 

ZEP applicants still need to individually apply for DOL and if applicable SAQA to be waived AND receive the said waiver outcome before they can submit a general work visa. 

This is an excerpt from a response on the topic received from DHA (Senior Official Rachelle Reyneke). 

„The waiver referred to is not and was never intended to be regarded as a blanket waiver. In the case of a blanket waiver, it is clearly indicated as such in the subject line.

 The purpose of the circular, as can be seen from the contents of the attachment, was to correct the thousands of waivers already signed by the previous Minister, in which only one of the prescribed requirements was for a waiver, resulting in potential mass rejection of general work visa applications by ZEP holders. Another reason for the directive was for Minister to show leniency towards the 178 000, ZEP holders who have been allowed to reside and work in South Africa since prior to 2010. It is also a mechanism to attempt to address the court’s sympathetic stance towards the plight of ZEP holders and to at least mitigate the reasons advanced by the Helen Suzmann Foundations’ why ZEP holders should be allowed to continue to live and work in South Africa.

 As already indicated, the directive is not a blanket waiver and ZEP holders who are interested in applying for a general work visa are required to individually apply for a waiver. Should a general work visa application be submitted without a waiver letter, such application will be rejected by the Departmental Advisory Committee. There has not been many such rejections so far, but there has been some.“

China`s yuan is the most traded foreign currency in Russia, but its availability in the heavily sanctioned country may soon dry up.

That would threaten a critical lifeline for Russian businesses, which became heavily reliant on the yuan as trade with China ramped up after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The war triggered Western sanctions that largely shut out Russia from the global financial system.

In June, the U.S. expanded its sanctions, forcing the Moscow Exchange and its clearing agent to halt trading in dollars and euros. A Treasury Department license that allows time for some transactions to wind down will expire on Oct. 12.

While Russia had already shifted away from Western currencies in favor of the yuan, the additional U.S. sanctions could have spillover effects on Chinese banks that engage in yuan transactions with Russia.

`The situation may change after Oct. 12,` a source told Reuters. `An abrupt shortage of yuan or a complete refusal to accept payments from Russia by Chinese banks is possible.`

That`s because all conversion operations, including for Chinese banks` subsidiaries, will stop, and all open foreign exchange positions via the Moscow Exchange will be closed, the report added.

`Accordingly, the situation with the supply of yuan liquidity will become even more difficult,` the source told Reuters.

On top of that, the Russian unit of Austria`s Raiffeisen Bank began refusing to make payments to China earlier this month, the report said.

Yuan liquidity in Russia was already under strain after the U.S. expanded its definition of Russia’s military industry earlier this year, widening the potential scope of Chinese firms that could get hit with secondary sanctions for doing business with Moscow.

As a result, Chinese banks have been reluctant to transfer yuan to Russian counterparts while servicing foreign trade payments, leaving transactions in limbo for months. With yuan liquidity drying up from China, Russian companies tapped the central bank for yuan via currency swaps.

But the Bank of Russia dashed hopes for more liquidity, saying that the swaps are meant only for short-term stabilization of the domestic currency market and are not a long-term source of funding.

Russian banks have more than halved their swap borrowings, which dropped to 15.4 billion yuan ($2.19 billion) on Wednesday from their high of 35.2 billion yuan in early September, according to Reuters.

“We cannot lend in yuan, because we have nothing to cover our foreign currency positions with,” German Gref, CEO of top Russian lender Sberbank, said at an economic forum earlier this month.

In the world’s first three-way destination marketing partnership, presented as a documentary-style travelogue. 

The City of Cape Town believes the collaboration with New York and Berlin will drive economic growth in the tourism sector and create opportunities for local communities 

Cape Town Tourism, New York City Tourism + Conventions, and visitBerlin have joined forces to launch the world’s first three-way destination marketing partnership.

The collaboration kicks off with One Small World, a documentary-style short film that “dissolves the barriers of time, distance, and geography to reveal the essence of TimeOut’s top three best cities”.

City showcase

The One Small World campaign is set to promote transformative travel experiences while highlighting each city’s unique features. Duminy emphasised that the partnership aligns perfectly with Cape Town’s values of inclusivity, sustainability, and cultural exchange.

“By showcasing the diversity of our city, from the vibrant streets of Bo-Kaap to the breathtaking views of Table Mountain, we can inspire travellers to open their hearts and minds to new experiences and perspectives.”

Nancy Mammana, interim CEO and chief marketing officer of NYC Tourism + Conventions, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration: “We’re so excited to evolve our strategic tourism partnership with both Cape Town Tourism and visitBerlin with the world premiere of our One Small World short film in New York City.