The Mozambican government has been taking “bold measures” to improve the competitiveness of regional transport corridors, says Mateus Magala, the country’s Minister of Transport and Communication.“The Economic Acceleration Package (PAE), a set of 20 measures announced by President Filipe Nyusi in August 2022, removes great trade barriers, by eliminating a number of taxes and charges as well as simplifying processes through digitalisation. “Such was the case with the steps taken towards the Temporary Import Permit (TIP), a process well known by all transporters that cross the border to Mozambique frequently.”Speaking to Freight News, Magala said that, in addition to the TPP fee removal reducing the cost of freight by $11.5 per ton, the government had introduced multiple entries for TIP. Set to be implemented within the next few months, this is expected to greatly increase cross-border efficiency and the number of trips per month for cargo trucks.“In parallel, we are also looking at infrastructure aspects, such as improving border facilities and addressing bottlenecks throughout the corridor, together with the South-African governmental authorities,” he said.Asked to elaborate on the TIP process, Magala said the implementation was fairly easy for one reason. “It migrated in late 2021 to an automated process by integrating the already existing systems of the different corridor stakeholders, such as the Port of Maputo and Single Electronic Window, onto one platform. “ We a re currently looking at digitising most of our cross-border processes, to make trading with Mozambique as easy and seamless as possible. “ We st rong ly believe that full digital integration of systems, between Mozambique and its neighbouring countries, is the answer for our long-dated dream of having a single border post, with less bureaucracy. “We have a model in the Maputo corridor, as the one which moves the biggest volumes of cargo. We strongly appeal that this model is adopted by all transport corridors to promote stronger regional economies and development for all countries in the SADC region.”According to Magala, digitisation has to go beyond road solutions. “It is fundamental to think about digital integration in rail transport if our region wants to remain competitive and sustain its position as an important player in world trade. “Again, we have recently achieved a milestone by implementing trains without borders between South Africa and Mozambique, with a strong partnership between Transnet Freight Rail and Caminhos-de-Ferro de Moçambique (Mozambique’s Ports and Railways company).”
