20th May 2021
Own Correspondent
The Botswana Unified Revenue Service(BURS) told local journalists it is spending an estimated P500 million to build a 1 stop border post with a number of amenities such as 168 2 bedroom houses, 8 free standing high cost houses and 22 medium cost units alongside a crèche, football playing for social activity and physical exercise at the Pioneer Border gate bordering South Africa.
The main customs terminal will also be equipped with a state of the art scanner, cafeteria, sewage and domestic water pumps connected to Lobatse together with roads, pavements and aesthetically pleasing landscapes for business and leisure travelers embarking on journey across border.
“We are developing a 1 stop border post. You do not need to stop at Botswana and South Africa side to go through. It is hoped this will facilitate trade by reducing queues at borders and administrative processes,” said GaoneThela, General Manager for Botswana Unified Revenue Service(BURS).
According to a report by the United Nations(UN) COMTRADE database on international tradeSouth Africa exports to Botswana were US$3.28 Billion during 2020. Botswana primarily imports diamonds (almost 29% of total exports), fuel (10.7%), vehicles, medicines, foodstuffs, machinery, electrical products, and chemical products.
It revealed 38% of informal traders in Botswana complain about the difficulties they experience accessing the market. Improving movement across borders is expected to address this anomaly.
Revenue-generation activity within sectorincludes public transport, hawkers and street vendors, hair salons, liquor stores and restaurants. Informal sector where most indigenous Batswana are bore the major brunt of the national lockdown last year as staying at home and social distancing are
Botswana has experienced a negative economic shockas a result of COVID-19. According to officials the economy contracted by nearly one quarter in theperiod from March to June 2020, and over the year is expected to experience a deep recession.
The Quarterly Multi-Topic Household Survey, shows the unemployment rate for the quarter ending December 2020 was 24.5 percent.This is slightly higher than the 23.2 percent unemployment rate recorded in thefirst quarter of the year.
The domestic economy is, however expected to grow by 8.8 percent in 2021.
“Informal sector has been hard hit by COVID-19 Traders often travelled to South Africa to buy things for resale in Botswana. They can now no longer afford additional fees for COVID-19 tests as well as travel expenses,” said AnnahGaeratelwe, Senior Customs Officer for Botswana Unified Revenue service(BURS).
It is hoped that a one stop border facility will nevertheless ease market access issues within region by removing bottlenecks Batswana experience doing business in South Africa.
The Customs clearing of imports and exports and collection of duties will be done via a computerised system with better coordinated border management and employment of non-intrusive technology, to reduce administrative processes hampering speed of service delivery.
