The Southern African Movable Asset Register (SAMAR) has announced that manufacturers, importers, builders, banks, insurers and the general public will now be able to control title and ownership of all moveable assets.
Kyle Dutton (pictured), Project Manager at SAMAR, said:
"SAMAR's use by the insurance industry to load their interest against the asset under finance will reduce risk for the banks and related costs. This is extremely valuable as, unfortunately due to lack of the marking of moveable assets other than roadworthy and registered vehicles, millions of rands are lost each year due to multiple financing on the same asset, the inability to claim ownership after an insurance claims pay-out, or the inability to recover items in the second-hand market/criminal sales points."
SAMAR allows for a record to be kept of various assets and covers the life-cycle of a given asset - including those that are currently not allowed to be loaded on eNaTIS (the Electronic National Traffic Information System). SAMAR creates the most recent reliable record of that asset by updating records in real-time as changes are made by various system participants. Registering moevable assets on SAMAR will facilitate financing that may not otherwise have been available, by providing identifiable data and markings for tracking and control that are admissible in a court of law.
Dutton added:
"There are not too many options in terms of permanently marking assets in order to identify and confirm ownership. It is, however, crucial for both the financier and the insurer to be able to have access to a database where the owner could be linked to the specific asset in question, similar to what eNaTIS does in the registered motor environment."
