The Trans-Kalahari Corridor Secretariat (TKCS) has managed to get an undertaking from cross-border road freight stakeholders, including the various inland revenue services, to resolve congestion caused by new cargo clearance procedures at Botswana’s various borders.
This has emerged from a statement released by the TKCS following a meeting on Tuesday at the Pioneer Gate Border Post on the corridor connecting South Africa with Namibia through Botswana.
The initiatives will serve to solve the build-up of traffic that has resulted from a decision by the Botswana Unified Revenue Service to have a customs line entry for each and every item of in-transit cargo travelling through the landlocked country.
Previously consolidated cargo loads were given the all-clear through one received-in-transit number.
But the Unique Consignment Reference number, whereby everything has to be individually declared, has turned cargo travelling into and through Botswana on its head, overburdening clearing and Customs agents and causing massive truck build-ups at the country’s various borders.
Consequently, in a bid to find solutions for the situation, the TKCS has confirmed the following undertakings:
- All trucks that come to the border should be precleared and issued with release orders or proceed to border notifications.
- Trucks that have not been pre-cleared and released should remain at the truck stop in Zeerust (South Africa) and only approach the border after they have been pre-cleared by South Africa and Botswana.
- Trucks that approach the border without having been pre-cleared by Botswana and South Africa will be turned back.
- Priority will be given to perishables, dangerous goods and pharmaceuticals.
- A transit desk will be established to seamlessly facilitate transit goods.
- Where possible, more human resources will be deployed to augment the current staff complement.
- In the event of systems downtime of more than 30 minutes, border authorities will revert to manual processing.
- In order to minimize costs, printing of paper will be done away with; instead release order will be implemented.
- Botswana will provide a facility in the Customs Management System (CMS) that will expedite release of transit declarations.
- Botswana will undertake border assessment with a view to address parking space for trucks.
- To improve communication from border authorities to transporters and clearing agents by setting up of social media platforms such as WhatsApp.
- Member states to consider pop-up messages to alert clearing agents where permits are required prior to lodging of declarations.
