Threat to use of TransKalahari Highway
LEONARD NEILL
BOTSWANA HAS increased the cost of cross-border permits by 500%, raising concerns among South African and Namibian transport operators. Transport Minister Jeff Radebe has now called for an urgent bilateral meeting with the Botswana government.
According to Radebe the road user charge increase for foreign vehicles entering Botswana only came to his notice when it was gazetted recently. He has now called for a study to determine how road user charges can be applied uniformly by all SADC member states.
Meanwhile many South African transport operators with goods destined for Botswana are arranging for delivery to the border where locally based vehicles collect and deliver to consignees.
The increased fee is seen by Namibian operators as a serious threat to the use of the TransKalahari Highway, across which numerous Namibian companies deliver goods to Gauteng destinations, often returning with no backloads but still faced with the cross-border charges.
It is also seen as a deterrent to South African exporters making use of Walvis Bay as a faster service point for goods being sent to Western Europe and the United States. The alternative route is via the Namibian-Northern Cape border which avoids Botswana, but is far lengthier.
