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ESWATINI’S WEAK USED CARS REGULATORY RANKING

29/10/2020 00:47:00 BY ASHMOND NZIMA

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MBABANE – Eswatini has been ranked among countries that have very weak used vehicles policies to restrict the age of cars and/or emissions standards.

This is as per the United Nations’ environment programme report entitled, ‘used vehicles and the environment’, which was released on Tuesday. This comes at the time when there is heated debate in the country on the capping of seven years period for importing used cars in terms of Legal Notice No.183 of 2020.

The UN report developed a scaled ranking of used vehicles policies for the 146 countries analysed based on policies to restrict the age of vehicles and/or emissions standards as adopted by the countries. The ranking categorises national measures from ‘very good’ to ‘very weak’.

Weak

Eswatini falls in the very weak category alongside 34 African counterparts that include; Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome &Principe, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Countries with the very weak ranking are those with no used light duty vehicles Euro emissions standard adopted and/or age limit of nine years plus or no age limit.

The report is said to be a first attempt at gathering, analysing and presenting an overview of the global trade in used vehicles for the purpose of environmental policymaking. This includes information on the supply chains, scale and the physical ‘flows’ in trade from exporting markets to importing markets. It further details and evaluates the national and (sub)regional regulatory environments and policy measures that seek to control the trade in used vehicles.

“Out of the countries surveyed, 81 countries, over half, have ‘weak’ or ‘very weak’ policies to regulate the import of used vehicles. At least 47 countries, about one-third, have ‘good’ or ‘very good’ policies. Especially in Africa, the biggest market for the import of used vehicles where more than 60 per cent of vehicles added annually are used vehicles, policies are weak,” stressed the report.

Tightened

As part of recommendations, the report suggested that regulations should be gradually tightened in the coming decade.

“Used low and no emissions vehicles should be promoted as an affordable way for middle- and low-income countries to access advanced technologies.

“Exporting and importing countries have a shared responsibility to improve and regulate used vehicles to minimise their negative impacts,” highlighted the report.

Director at Eswatini Environment Authority Gcina Dladla had politely asked to comment upon seeing the report.

Meanwhile, Legal Notice No.183 of 2020 has caused a heated debate, with legislators also having a say on the issue following the change of the age limit from the initial 15 years. This publication recently reported that Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg rejected the 12-year age limit for import vehicles resolved by Members of Parliament (MPs).

Instead, the minister reviewed the seven-year limit currently in force with a new age limit, which would be eight. The minister said the eight-year age limit was what obtained in most of the countries in the region like Namibia and Lesotho.

Resolved

The MPs had resolved that the minister should justify the rationale of capping the seven years period for importing used vehicles.

The minister was further directed to alternatively cap the period to 12 years.

In response, the minister had said the move by the ministry to reduce the age limit for second-hand vehicles imported from outside the South African Customs Union (SACU) revenue share was for safety, environment and human health.

The minister further informed the MPs that it had also been observed that there was rampant under-declaration of these vehicles, which negatively impacted on overall revenue collection from this subsector.

“Eswatini’s revenue from SACU used to make at least 50 per cent of the national budget yet in 2020/21 SACU revenue is about 40 per cent of the national budget,” it was reported.

On the issue of public interest, Rijkenberg said that a reduction in the importation of second-hand motor vehicles from outside SACU, as a result of the reduction in the age limit, would most likely impact positively on Eswatini’s level of intra-SACU imports, which would lead to a higher SACU revenue share.

He said the resultant higher revenues from SACU, if efficiently allocated, had a potential to ignite more economic activity which may result in improved standard of living for emaSwati, which was in the public interest.

Used

On another note, on safety and environment, the minister had said there was a positive correlation between the age of a vehicle and its impact on the environment, especially if the vehicle was not well-serviced and or heavily used.

He stated that emission of noxious gases increased in quantities when the engine was old and inefficient.

“The situation, if not controlled, will increase the country’s environmental burden, especially because the country does not have suitable waste treatment and emission testing facilities.”

The MPs had called upon the minister to inform the House why he had not implemented the House resolution, calling upon him to reverse the seven-year age limit to at least 12 years.