Tyre industry launches whistle-blower hotline

SA’s Tyre Equipment Parts Association (Tepa) has launched a whistle blower hotline where cases of illicit trading activity can be reported by both industry and consumer.

Vishal Premlall, national director of Tepa, says this drive to promote a cleaner industry has support from key stakeholders in the tyre and parts environment including the SA Tyre Manufacturers Conference (SATMC) which represents the country’s four main local tyre manufacturers: Continental Tyre, Goodyear, Bridgestone and Sumitomo Tyres. It also has support from the rival Tyre Importers Association of SA (Tiasa).

On the parts side the initiative is also broadly supported by most of the major parts manufacturers and distributors.

“We know that unfortunately traders at the bottom end of the supply chain are bringing in parts through compromised channels of very poor quality, not fit for purpose parts that do not adhere to local regulatory standards,” says Premlall.

These substandard products then find themselves falling into the hands of cash strapped consumers who do not realise the full impact of using inferior or counterfeit parts.

“They are not only compromising consumers’ health and safety but that of their loved ones,” he says, “The problem with these parts is there is also very little, if any traceability, no technical support and no recourse for the consumer,” says Premlall. 

Both consumers and industry will now be able to report cases of illicit trading activity on the Tepa whistle blower. 

In a media briefing earlier this month, SATMC chairperson Lubin Ozoux said illegal tyre imports are increasing in SA, posing a risk to road users and jobs in the local industry.

“The SATMC is working with law enforcement agencies to identify and investigate cases of illicit tyre trade, and we are advocating for stronger measures to prevent this trade from happening in the first place. There are rising incidents of misdeclaration of tyre consignments and rerouting of imports through neighbouring countries to avoid tyre duties, environment levies and permits,” he said.

Tiasa chairperson Charl de Villiers welcomes the joining of forces between the three associations.

“Curbing illicit trade practices will be virtually impossible without the commitment from all industry players and their members at all levels of business. Tiasa is very concerned that should an anti-dumping margin be implemented, in the absence of effective policing, it will serve as a further incentive for those who are already making themselves guilty of duty circumvention to increase their volumes, placing further strain on legitimate traders.

“We are at a crossroad. As industry we have to stand up against illicit trade to ensure we protect not only the sustainability of legitimate importer’s businesses, but also the consumer from buying inferior products entering our market,” he says.

Premlall says he is confident this initiative will succeed based on the inroads already achieved in the petroleum sector where fines, penalties and suspensions have been successfully executed. In that instance the SA Petroleum Retailers Association set up a hotline and the awareness created has made movement by illicit operators significantly harder. In a space of 18 months more than 200 cases have been reported, of which over 50% have been investigated resulting in the necessary sanction.

The whistle-blower is an online platform accessible at https://tepa.org.za/whistleblower/

Tepa will conduct consumer education campaigns on how to spot illicit traders and says the most obvious is to do business with complaint members that conform to a code of conduct and ethics.