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Continued commitment by TEPA

The RMI continuously strives to inform and guide members regarding legislation and regulations regarding the operating of a business in South Africa. The object of the process is not to try and enforce the laws or act as a watchdog, but rather to help guide members through the huge number of regulations and laws that are mandatory in business in South Africa.
The RMI appreciates that members often do not have the time to read and interpret all the existing and breaking legislation. As a value-add to members, the RMI accordingly attempts to interpret and inform members on all new pieces of legislation. The information provided by the RMI does not supersede the laws and the business owner remains responsible for their own actions in line with the law.
This process of support has been most visible over this PANDEMIC period. During the Lockdown period the RMI and TEPA have been working extremely hard to ensure that there is no confusion amongst the member networks regarding the requirements of the laws.
In order to better appreciate the magnitude of the task, the following are the statistics (not limited to) as at the time of writing this article:

  • Laws: The Disaster Management Act.
  • Regulations: 23 different regulations
  • Directions relating to regulations: 99 different directions
  • Guidelines and Notices: 18 guidelines
  • Total: 140 documents

Add to this the Labour Act, Health Act, Transport Act, and numerous others that had to be referenced in determining any interpretation before such could be circulated.
In addition to this work, there were ongoing representations at Ministerial levels in attempts to secure as early an opening of the industry as possible. The RMI in association with NAAMSA achieved success for the entire motor industry in this regard. There were also representations to increase the threshold of qualification for support from R50 million to R100 million which allowed many more of our members in the motor industry to participate in the scheme.
TEPA kept an ongoing communication channel open with members using the TELEGRAM APP with approximately 83 communications to the member subscribers. At every junction, as the regulations changed, the RMI as an organisation, quickly collated, interpreted and provided guidance on the correct way to proceed, without falling foul of the LAW at the time.
This guidance and interpretation which has been the hallmark of the RMI in protecting members from being held liable for their actions, is in continuation of the same processes that were followed with the Waste Tyre Plan and the MIOSA structures. Here again the RMI worked continuously to ensure that what had been published as LAW was being implemented as best as possible and that the members understood the implications of the LAWS. The RMI, in addition to the guidance processes, has also not overlooked its responsibility to seek to mitigate any of these LAWS being applied in-correctly by the authorities. In the case of the Waste Tyre industry, the RMI is in constant contact with the Waste Management Bureau to assist with TEPA members’ complaints and to provide guidance to the Bureau directly. The RMI has spent untold hours in ongoing consultations regarding the applications of the LAWS and continues to do so at the highest levels.
TEPA has also worked with the Department of Employment and Labour (Chief Inspectorate) to ensure that where no option but compliance exists, such as OHS, that the members are able to access recognised and reputable support services at nominal rates. These costs are far below the industry norm via CSRS (Complete Specialised Retail Solutions), the specialists in the industry with whom the RMI has entered into a Service Level Agreement on behalf of members to ensure not only compliance, but also suitable service delivery from the specialist supplier.
TEPA negotiated a specialised insurance package directly for the Tyre and Parts Dealers during 2015 when significant savings were available. The offer has since changed somewhat to account for the scale of economies in the take up of the product. However the option still exists to obtain a quotation for the bespoke insurance package through the RMI.
The RMI has, as one of its core strategies, the requirement to continuously lobby on behalf of members at all levels of the industry and government. This function is consistently and continuously driven by both the Associations and the RMI regulatory compliance department.
TEPA works with the SABS and the NRCS on an ongoing basis to provide industry feedback to the 18 technical committees and sub-committees, as well as working with the NRCS on Tyre, vehicle building and the component compulsory specifications, which aim to ensure quality products reach the members.
The RMI and TEPA are committed to continuing to provide a superior quality service to members in line with all aspects of running a business that are least understood, considered and implemented. These include all the laws, bylaws, regulations, standards and specifications pertaining to the Motor Industry of South Africa.