BUSINESS
One of the biggest
challenges for border
officials is the lack
of a system to
systematically check
an asset as it arrives,
whether it’s going in
the right direction, is
in the hands of the
right people, and is
heading to a legitimate
destination.”
Kyle Dutton, SAMAR
leaving the banks to fight over the asset. After
grappling with this issue for several years, the
banks mooted the idea of an alternate register
for assets not covered by eNaTIS. Great
interest was expressed, too, from importers of
yellow metal assets.
Initially, the banks decided to run with
the concept, but the reality of this additional
responsibility soon had them seeking a more
workable solution. They found a willing ear in
a team that had a long-standing relationship
with the banking fraternity and a sound
understanding of the complexities of asset
management. This team set about establishing
the Southern Africa Movable Assets Register
(SAMAR) in 2015.
SAMAR does for off-road vehicles what
eNaTIS does for its passenger and cargo
counterparts: protects against fraud and theft
and ensures that assets can be managed
throughout their life, no matter how many times
they change owners.
“Across Africa, yellow metal assets are often
crudely marked and haphazardly registered to
businesses,” says Kyle Dutton, project manager
at SAMAR. “SAMAR was designed to provide
the most recent reliable record of an asset by
updating records in real-time as changes are
made by system participants such as finance
houses, dealerships, and insurers. This allows
businesses to effectively manage and control
the financing of items throughout their lifecycle.
This greatly reduces fraud, theft, double
discounting, and incorrect representation of
value for insurance purposes.”
South Africa would have scored a goal off
the field during the Fifa World Cup of 2010 had
SAMAR been in operation. One of the major
banks financed 100 portable toilets worth more
than R100 000 each, but after the tournament,
only three could be found, the others
disappearing into anonymity due to a lack of
unique identifier of ownership.
Eight years later and three years down the
SAMAR road, all the major banks are now on
board and there are already a very encouraging
40 000 assets registered, 10 000 of which
were added in the past six months alone. It is
a pebble in the earthmoving bucket, though,
compared to the number of vehicles trundling
around the country’s mines and construction
sites excavating, bulldozing, hauling, and
loading to build the South Africa of tomorrow.
“The insurance industry will find that
SAMAR brings welcome relief amid the fraud
risks associated with the substantial value
of non-motor-related movable assets
financed and insured,” says Dutton.
“Identification of a lost or stolen asset,
especially if the purchaser still owes on
it, is problematic for both financier and
insurer.”
Merchant West’s commercial asset
finance sales manager, Roxanne Mitchell,
comments: “Fraud is a problem that
plagues this industry as criminals become
more and more creative about how they
obtain assets. eNaTIS documents have
proved key in preventing fraudulent
acquisition of road vehicles and we believe
that the SAMAR system will be equally
successful. It should prevent double
discounting, which is a major problem.”
Nico van Heerden, director of Optimum
Asset Finance, adds that an effective
yellow metal assets register is long
overdue. “This register will regulate the
industry significantly by providing real
market values, ownership history, hours
in operation and condition of the asset,
photos, and financier background,” he says.
Access to a database where an owner
can be linked to a specific asset is crucial
for all parties, says Dutton. “The absence
of marking of movable assets other than
roadworthy and registered vehicles means
millions of rands are lost not only through
multiple financing on the same asset, but
through the inability to claim ownership
after an insurance claim payout or a failure
to recover items in the second-hand
market or criminal sales points.”
At a registration fee of R80 per asset
and no yearly licensing fees, a SAMAR
mention doesn’t overly dent the bottom
line. Nor does it inconvenience the user,
as an app is available to scan the security
label that is attached to the asset to
determine if the owner is on the level or
trying to sell a stolen asset.
Although this will be useful for private
users of the system too, SAMAR is
currently exploring its potential with the
South African Police Service (SAPS) to
control cross-border movement of assets.
“Often only poor identification and
registration stand in the way of equipment
moving freely across the borders, with or
without the owner’s permission,” Dutton
explains.
“Most tracking solutions can be easily
removed or hidden and, often, the remains
JULY 2018
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