One stop border post to improve regional trade

Lusaka - The OSBP Project Manager, Kingsley Chanda, said the committee under the guidance of COMESA was expected to approve the project road map and a bilateral agreement developed by stakeholders.

Chanda said intra-regional trade had grown consistently by 20% per annum in value terms since the launch of the COMESA free trade area in October 2000.

He said the increase in intra-regional trade had led to a rise in trade issues affecting both large and small enterprises, as well as the movement of people in the region.

Chanda noted that improved border procedures and immigration formalities at all levels were necessary for the benefit of both national and regional economies.

He also revealed that the implementation of the OSBP in the region would start with the one at Chirundu, on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border, as a pilot project, as decided by the COMESA Council of Ministers in 2005.

He added that Chirundu is strategically positioned with a volume of traffic standing at 270 for commercial vehicles and 240 customs declarations per day.

He hoped that once achieved by all key players, the OSBP would make the region more competitive and attractive for trade and investment.

The OSBP aims to reduce the number of stops made at border posts by combining activities of border control agencies for both countries at a single location in each particular direction.

The 20 member COMESA region has an estimated combined population of 400 million people and covers an area of over 12 million square kilometres, compared to Southern African Development Community's (SADC) estimated 9.8 million square kilometre area and 233 million people.

The two organisations have overlapping memberships.

COMESA member countries are Angola, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

SADC's 14 member countries are Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Article published courtesy of BuaNews