Midrand: The president of the Namibia Local Businesses Association (Naloba), Erastus Shapumba, on Friday called for improvements in border efficiency, harmonisation of customs procedures, and digitisation of trade documentation to unlock the full potential of intra-African trade.According to Namibia Press Agency, Shapumba expressed his frustration about delays at the border with South Africa while speaking at the South Africa-Namibia Business Forum held alongside the fourth South Africa-Namibia Bi-National Commission in Midrand. In a statement read on his behalf by Naloba's vice president, Peter King Kanu Amadhila, and shared with the media, Shapumba highlighted that unnecessary delays at key border posts, including Trans-Kalahari and Noordoewer, along with inconsistent standards, continue to undermine the competitiveness of businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises.Shapumba stated, "Every unnecessary delay at Trans-Kalahari or Noordoewer, every duplicated document, every inconsistency in stan dards and certification, is a tax on our businesses, and it is often the smallest businesses that can least afford to pay it." He urged the two governments to accelerate one-stop border post initiatives and streamline customs processes.Shapumba noted that although Africa has made political progress towards regional integration, intra-African trade still accounts for only between 15 and 18 per cent of the continent's total trade. He pointed out that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides an opportunity to change that by creating a market of about 1.4 billion people with a combined gross domestic product exceeding US$3 trillion."AfCFTA is not a distant aspiration. It is a natural extension of an integration journey we began decades ago. The question before us today is not whether we should deepen intra-African trade, but how quickly and effectively to remove the barriers that prevent our businesses from doing so," Shapumba said. He further identified improved access to finance for cross-b order enterprises and stronger regional value chains as priorities for deeper economic integration.According to Shapumba, regional industrialisation should move beyond the export of raw materials to the development of joint value chains in agro-processing, green hydrogen, oil and gas, renewable energy, mining beneficiation, and manufacturing.