Namibian group helps streamline customs procedures

ALTHOUGH THE Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) is Namibian born, it is intending to continue stretching its activities overborder, according to information released to FTW.
It is a public/private partnership whose members are the ministries of transport, trade and finance, the associations of road and port users, the Namibian Ports Authority and the shipping industry. It is designed to combine the resources of government authority as transport regulator and private sector expertise as the transport operator.
The WBCG is currently seeking regional support or co-operative structures.
One example, FTW was told, is the Trans Kalahari Corridor Management Committee, initiated by the WBCG and the Namibian Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication, and set up as a regional PPP, comprising Namibian, Botswanan and SA government and private sector representatives.
Intended to co-ordinate and streamline activities along the Trans Kalahari Route from Walvis Bay through Botswana to SA, the route is being used successfully as a pilot for the introduction of standardised regional customs procedures.
Similar efforts are underway to develop the Trans Caprivi Corridor - extending from Walvis Bay through Katima Mulilo to northern Zambia and the southern DRC.