Continued collaboration between private- and public-sector stakeholders is crucial to find solutions to long-standing problems on corridor transits linking the Copperbelt with ports in southern Africa, says Klokke van Blerk, head of operations at cross-border services provider, Korridor.“It takes time to establish lasting relationships with stakeholders at the borders, but little by little it makes a difference.“We’ve had trucks waiting in that queue for up to 10 days, with transporters often at their wits’ end when trying to cross into the Copperbelt.”This is where we step in, in collaboration with the public sector, he said.“Companies like Korridor are only as strong as the network we keep building out.“We have a strong relationship with government bodies like the Zambian Revenue Authority and the Road Traffic & Safety Agency of Zambia, and are helping the Road Traffic and Safety Agency of Zambia to facilitate toll payments through our platform.”Van Blerk said one of the people who had probably done the most to step into the breach on behalf of cross-border operators was Mike Fitzmaurice, chief executive of the Federation of East and Southern African Road Transport Associations.“I’ve worked with him on border monitoring projects at places like Beitbridge, and saw the difference it can make when there’s active involvement to speed up trade.”He adds that it’s encouraging to see the likes of Fitzmaurice showing perseverance, no matter what challenges he experiences.“It’s often frustrating and it takes time, but we’ve seen how things can change when people like Mike get executives to visit borders and see for themselves what’s happening on the ground. “It is through such interventionist strategising, by isolating problems and finding solutions, that we often see backlogs adequately addressed, if not entirely cleared up.”But which are the borders that most urgently need such intervention?According to Van Blerk, three that immediately come to mind are Kasumbalesa, Groblersbrug and Lebombo east of Komatipoort on the Maputo Corridor.“I passed through Groblers recently on a Sunday and there was a queue of trucks. And at the Komatipoort crossing we’ve seen truck queues building at the Kilometre Seven staging area, taking days to cross.”Last year Leslie Mpofu, executive director of the Trans-Kalahari Corridor Secretariat, said the build-up at Groblers into South Africa should be a serious consideration for transporters using the Kazungula Bridge across the Zambezi further north.Back then, he said it was expected that more trucks would start driving through Namibia’s Zambezi panhandle, still known to some as the Caprivi, to use the Port of Walvis Bay.
