In what the Maputo Corridor has described as “a dream come true”, the World Bank is piloting a Corridor Performance Monitoring System on the corridor.
While it’s still early days, the preliminary sample information gathered by truck monitoring systems provides disappointing data on the length of time taken for trucks to cross the borders, says chief executive officer of the Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative (MCLI), Barbara Mommen.
“One key issue is lack of incentive for trucks to leave the KM4 facility in as short a time as possible, as the parking fee for 15 minutes is the same as that of a three-day stop.”
This is one issue that needs to be addressed, but reasons for the hours taken also need to be investigated.
“In our assessment, based on the electronic interface available on the Mozambique/South Africa border crossings, trucks should take no longer than 40 minutes to process from the time of entry at KM7 to clearance at KM4, or vice versa, should documentation be correct and fully compliant,” she says.
And while she concedes that much work still needs to be done, she points out that having the data makes the work of the organisation more focused and effective.
