Chirundu teaches vital lessons for future OSBPs

Southern Africa’s only One Stop Border
Post (OSBP) has in its first year of
operation had its fair share of problems,
proving to be a steep learning curve for roleplayers
and stakeholders.
According to Barney Curtis, executive
director of the Federation of East and Southern
African Road Transport Associations (Fesarta),
the Chirundu OSBP has experienced many
teething problems since becoming operational
in December 2009.
Linking Zambia and Zimbabwe, the border
post on the North-South corridor, one of the
main trading routes in Africa, sees between 300
and 400 trucks crossing through it everyday.
“The process to convert Chirundu to an
OSBP started about ten years ago,” says Curtis.
“This border post was identified and earmarked
as the pilot phase of the one stop border post
initiative in southern Africa.”
But, he says, it has not been smooth sailing.
“Getting it up and running took time and the
opening was postponed several times.”
Finding resources and budget to make the
necessary infrastructural changes were all part
of the challenge – needing political buy-in from
both countries. But, says Curtis, since becoming
operational there have been many problems that
were never even envisaged.
“One of the critical issues has been that
authorities from two different countries are
now suddenly working in one office and have
to work together. This has not been as easy as
initially envisaged.”
In a progress report on the border post,
Trademark Southern Africa states that the
opening of Chirundu as an OSBP had been
made more difficult than it should have
been because it was not physically – in
terms of building lay-outs and traffic plans –
designed as an OSBP.
But according to Curtis, Chirundu has
despite the problems and challenges played
a significant role as it has allowed everyone
involved to learn valuable lessons that will
come in handy with the opening of the next
OSBP.
These lessons include the fact that it would
be much more simple to operate an OSBP if it
was designed as one from the start, that political
buy-in is a must and change management is
crucial for employees.