The Founder of Road Haulage Association and president for past 12 years, Dave Aidney, has officially handed the responsibility of the association to new president, Hector Smith.

This was done at the association’s first meeting this week post the annual general meeting held the past month in Nadi.

Mr Aidney had started the association 12 years ago with nothing but today, the association boasts of over 70 members.

Mr Aidney, wishing Mr Smith the very best, is now looking forward to retirement in Fiji.

Mr Smith said he was grateful to have learnt from Mr Aidney, a high profile transport man himself.

Mr Aidney is the managing director of Williams & Gosling Limited, a leading freight forwarding and logistics firm which is also a shipping agent.

Challenges

Association secretary, Humphrey Chang, raised the issue of lack of communication within the Land Transport Authority.

“The officers on the ground still book the members when we have already come to some agreement as to how we should tackle the provision,” he said.

“So that is a major issue we are facing with LTA at the moment whereby information is not being channelled down.”

Concerns

With the road upgrade works underway, the association has stressed the need to be made aware of the weight requirements.

Vice president West, Manoj Jeet, said: “We are having all these new roads going up and then there is a weight issue. So we need to see the methodology of the road that they are developing.

“These things need to be discussed as well. As it is, there is a need for it to be reviewed.”

Last year a Compliance Company meeting with Land Transport Authority was held and most of the issues the members had are understood to have been resolved.

“Many of these issues have been taken up to the LTA were resolved but some of these things cannot be dealt with because it is not in their hands,” Mr Jeet said.

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