BENEFITS OF BEING A SOUTHERN AFRICAN RAILWAYS ASSOCIATION MEMBER
Background
The Southern African Railways Association (SARA) was formed with the initial objective of promoting railway interests through advocacy and lobbying for the levelling of the playing field between road and rail, exchange of information and collaboration among members in order to provide a cost effective seamless railway transport service. Although this objective would seem to apply to railways whose networks are connected, it was SARA’s deliberate position to allow other railway organisations not necessarily connected through their railway network to be part of their membership as there were potential benefits from this interaction. As time progressed it was realised that there were other key stakeholders to the railway delivery service delivery system who could impact on or could be impacted by the railway service delivery process. This being the case, there was a change in the membership drive in order to accommodate these key stakeholders.
Membership categories and their benefits
There are two broad membership categories viz; full members and associate members. Full members own railway infrastructure and or operate trains and currently connected through their railway network. On the other hand associate members include other railway organisations whose railway networks are not connected to the other SARA members’ networks, some major railway customers, suppliers and other organisations with interest in railway activities. The benefits of each membership category are outlined below;
Full members
- Information sharing
- Power in numbers for lobbying and advocacy
- Scope to provide an integrated seamless railway service
- Access to resources and facilities
- Joint marketing facility
- Increased strength against road competition.
- Scope for standardisation
- Safety and risk management
- Scope to reduce cost of doing business through resource sharing and joint planning.
- Access to donors for regional projects
- Easy access to regional bodies like SADC.
- Advice from the Secretariat to members on various issues.
- Scope to influence
- Preferential treatment from other members
- Networking opportunities.
- Opportunity to get detailed and objective feedback from SARA member customers on service delivery
- Platform to obtain market intelligence pertaining to competitors (road) from member customers
- Opportunity to jointly access and influence railway suppliers who are members of SARA.
- Fostering rapport between railways, its customers and suppliers.
Associate members
Other railway organisations
- Information sharing and experiences
- Board membership
- Networking opportunities
- Access to member customers (marketing opportunity) and suppliers
Major railway customers
- Opportunity to influence railway service delivery process (quality of service)
- Board membership
- Networking platform
- Information sharing
- Preferential treatment from other members
- Marketing opportunity
- Fostering rapport with railways as one of the key suppliers
Major railway suppliers
- Access to markets
- Marketing opportunities
- Information sharing
- Preferential treatment from other members
- Board membership
Other interest organisations
- Ability to influence and promote interests
- Fostering rapport with other members
- Board membership
- Information sharing
Conclusion
There is need for close cooperation among members if the benefits enumerated above are to be realised. Each member should effectively play its role for the benefit of the association itself and the stakeholders for which the organisations exist to serve. It is also critical for all members to timeously supply information to the SARA Secretariat when requested to do so, for the latter to be able to drive the association’s agenda forward. On the other end, the Secretariat has to be proactive and be an effective driver of the process.
