Investigating Transport Pricing in South Africa and the Impact on Freight Transport Costs ‘
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY D.PHIL DEGREE
DATE: 23 May 2013
Title
‘INVESTIGATING TRANSPORT PRICING IN SOUTH AFRICA AND THE IMPACT ON FREIGHT TRANSPORT COSTS ‘
BY BRIAN K CHIKWAVA.
1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
It has been widely viewed, documented and believed that South African transport policy and transport plans focus almost entirely on passenger transport rather than on freight transport, yet Freight transport plays a very crucial role in the whole transport pricing, and the economy as a whole. A number of studies, including the Reynders Commission (1972:489), Closely supported by Dehlen(1993:10), Porter( Monitor Group 1195; Appendix) and Pretorius(1997) 8-1, have highlighted in their writings high logistics costs as one of the factors that inhibit the competitive advantage of South Africa. Further to this, although the importance of lower logistics cost has in recent years been noted at the highest level( Republic of South Africa,2005 b) ,all levels of government still do not appreciate and understand the full extent of the problem, and the need to implement an action plan to address current deficiencies in the logistics system.
Given this background, it is essential and imperative to analyse the transport costs in order to understand and appreciate the full extent of the costs of the logistics in the entire South African economy. This would have a number of benefits to a number of stakeholders- these include the following:
1. Firstly, the Government departments and parastatals like Eskom ,Telkom should have an interest in the overall costs of transport as it is: ❖ An indicator of the overall state of the economy ❖ Transport has a direct impact on the competitive advantage of a country and thus an important input in the development of trade policy and; ❖ It should be an input in the development of transport policy, as it provides information on the costs of transport per commodity per mode. 1.
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY D.PHIL DEGREE
DATE: 23 May 2013
Title
‘INVESTIGATING TRANSPORT PRICING IN SOUTH AFRICA AND THE IMPACT ON FREIGHT TRANSPORT COSTS ‘
BY BRIAN K CHIKWAVA.
1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
It has been widely viewed, documented and believed that South African transport policy and transport plans focus almost entirely on passenger transport rather than on freight transport, yet Freight transport plays a very crucial role in the whole transport pricing, and the economy as a whole. A number of studies, including the Reynders Commission (1972:489), Closely supported by Dehlen(1993:10), Porter( Monitor Group 1195; Appendix) and Pretorius(1997) 8-1, have highlighted in their writings high logistics costs as one of the factors that inhibit the competitive advantage of South Africa. Further to this, although the importance of lower logistics cost has in recent years been noted at the highest level( Republic of South Africa,2005 b) ,all levels of government still do not appreciate and understand the full extent of the problem, and the need to implement an action plan to address current deficiencies in the logistics system.
Given this background, it is essential and imperative to analyse the transport costs in order to understand and appreciate the full extent of the costs of the logistics in the entire South African economy. This would have a number of benefits to a number of stakeholders- these include the following:
1. Firstly, the Government departments and parastatals like Eskom ,Telkom should have an interest in the overall costs of transport as it is: ❖ An indicator of the overall state of the economy ❖ Transport has a direct impact on the competitive advantage of a country and thus an important input in the development of trade policy and; ❖ It should be an input in the development of transport policy, as it provides information on the costs of transport per commodity per mode. 1.
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