Ministers of Works and Transport, John Mutorwa of Namibia, Eric Molale of Botswana and Sindisiwe Chikunga of South Africa at the end of August inaugurated the Trans-Kalahari Corridor (TKC) headquarters.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, TKC Secretariat Executive Director, Leslie Mpofu, stated that the ministers noted that the year 2023 marked 20 years since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on the development and management of the TKC.
“The ministers noted the following achievements: the establishments of a permanent secretariat that is headquartered in Windhoek, Namibia; yearly audited financial reports; the introduction of the single customs administration document; harmonisation of key transport regulations; development of the dangerous goods model law and its domestication by member states, and development and enactment of the One Stop Border Post (OSBP) Act by Botswana and Namibia,” the executive director said.
Mpofu said the meeting applauded the Republics of Botswana and Namibia for signing the One Stop Post Agreement, on 09 September 2022, as well as launching the 24-hour operation at Mamuno/Trans-Kalahari Border Post on 01 April 2023 and that Namibia and Botswana reiterated their commitment to the OSBP launch by 2024.
Furthermore, the ministers congratulated the Republic of Namibia and the Republic of Botswana for introducing the use of identity cards (IDs) as travel documents for its citizenry, he said.
The ministers agreed to the introduction of a vehicle cargo tracking system in order to enable real time visibility, reduce irregularities while improving tax revenue collections, and further approved the establishment of a task team to develop the TKC model law on abnormal loads, Mpofu said.
Moreover, the ministers noted that Namibia and South Africa have developed a road safety strategy in line with the second decade of action for road safety (2021-2030), however Botswana is in the process of developing the strategy, he said.
The ED stated that while reiterating the different governments’ commitment to the TKC, the ministers expressed satisfaction at the work done by the TKCMC (Trans-Kalahari Corridor Management Committee), the TKCS (Trans-Kalahari Corridor Secretariat), together with other stakeholders.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency