1st April 2023
Own Correspondent
Foreign truck drivers today completely blocked the road leading up to the Mamuno/Trans Kalahari border posts in protest against the lack of formal communication by officials about the temporary suspension of services at the border during the official launch of the 24 hour border post having announced the use of Identity documents as cross border travel documents.
“The launch of 24 hour operations for this port of entry, is aligned to the aspirations of the memorandum of understanding signed between the republics of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, on the development and management of the Trans Kalahari Corridor, along which the Mamuno/Trans Kalahari border posts are located,” said Peggy Serame, Minister of Finance for Botswana, in official opening remarks.
She said, “This corridor serves as a gateway to and from international markets, therefore such initiatives like the 24 hour operation of Mamuno/Trans Kalahari border posts will give it a competitive advantage and make it a corridor of choice in the Southern African Development Community(SADC).”
According to officials imports averaging a total value of P15 billion are processed annually at Mamuno border post and an estimated 8800 commercial trucks carrying cargo across Mamuno/Trans Kalahari border posts are facilitated by officials on average on a monthly basis.
It is expected to facilitate the use of Port of Walvis Bay as well as the Botswana Dry port, provided to the Government of Botswana by their Namibian counterparts. This development will also complement efforts of the recently ratified the African Continental Free Trade Agreement(AfCFTA).
Since the two countries signed a Memorandum of Agreement on the 24th February 2023 providing for the nationals of the two countries to use national identity cards to travel between the two countries, 214 Namibian nationals and 525 Batswana nationals have made use of identity cards as travel documents through Transkalahari/ Mamuno Border Posts.
“The strategic location of Trans-Kalahari/ Mamuno Border Posts allows the two countries to promote trade relations. At the same time, costs to the business community will be reduced because of sharing facilities. Therefore, the private sector is encouraged to invest in the latest logistics technology along this Corridor,” said Dr Albert Kawana, Namibia’s Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security.
He said, “Botswana is now sea linked through the Dry Port at the Port of Walvis Bay. Therefore, the Trans[1]Kalahari/ Mamuno Border Post operation on a twenty-four hour basis will serve the logistic hub concept well. Logistics hubs are large-scale structures within which different logistics service providers collaborate to offer value-added services by sharing assets. Such hubs impact on the efficiency of transportation systems since they directly affect the flow of goods.”
