Providing a link for economic growth across three countries

A common logistics link

between Namibia,

Botswana and South

Africa can help

promote economic growth, says

Leslie Mpofu, the new executive

director of the

Trans Kalahari

Corridor

Secretariat

(TKCS).

The Trans

Kalahari

Corridor

(TKC) is a

road network

spanning

approximately 1 900 kilometres

across Botswana, Namibia and

South Africa.

It starts in the Gauteng Province

in South Africa and continues

through Rustenburg and Zeerust

in the North-West Province,

through Lobatse and Kanye in

Botswana, the Mamuno and

Trans Kalahari Border Posts,

through Gobabis, Windhoek and

Okahandja in Namibia and on to

the Port of Walvis Bay.

“Our new

strategic plan

establishes us as

an organisation

which promotes

economic

development

and trade.

All member

states must

benefit from the

corridor,” he says.

Issues which need to be

addressed in order to transform

the transport corridor into an

economic corridor include safety,

security and risk management.

“We need to remove the risks

which are essentially non-tariff

barriers to trade,” he says.

Opportunities identified by the

TKCS include the construction of

truck stops in Namibia and

Botswana.

“Ideally there should

be truck stops every 80

kilometres,” he

says.

A spin-off

would be

an increase

in the

use of the

route by tourists,

who want the

comfort and surety

of having places to

stop regularly.

Border delays are also being

addressed. “We need a seamless

arrangement which allows

transporters to be agile and

to ensure that loads can be

delivered just in time to their

destination.”

Progress is being made. The

introduction of the standardised

SAD 500 form for

transhipment

between the

three countries

has already

speeded

up delivery

times.

“It now takes

around 30

minutes for a

truck to be cleared

at the two borders,”

he says.

Another project that will

help reduce costs is the introduction

of a system that enable hauliers to

find loads in order to reduce the

incidence of empty legs.

INSERT & CAPTION

Ideally there should be

truck stops every 80

kilometres.

– Lesley Mpofu