The Namibia Logistics Association (NLA) has raised concerns over a decision by Botswana that no longer allows one consignment note for trucks transiting the country.While authorities are currently working through the issue and its fallout, Harold Schmidt, secretary general of the NLA, said it highlighted a broader concern – the need for harmonisation and consistency on regional corridors.In November last year, the Botswana Unified Revenue Service (Burs) introduced a new in-transit cargo clearing procedure that immediately led to a major build-up of cross-border truck traffic. Border queues and waiting times of up to four days were reported.Previously, cargo could be consolidated and cleared using one Received-in-Transit (RIT) entry by clearing agents. Under the new system, each individual item now requires a separate RIT, significantly increasing the time and effort needed for clearance. The time taken by agents to frame each line entry has risen drastically, along with the cost. As an example, under the previoussystem a single RIT entry covered the entire consignment, resulting in only one payment. However, under the new rules, if a truck is carrying 300 consignments and each line entry costs around $70, the total clearance cost could amount to $21 000 now. This has placed a significant financial burden on transporters, particularly in sectors that typically move high volumes of small consignments.“It is a unilateral decision that has had significant ramifications,” said Schmidt. “What’s more concerning is that it was implemented by Burs without the necessary capacity in place. If one considers that the Trans Kalahari Corridor has historically experienced minimal delays, this decision has now introduced both delays and increased costs. This corridor accounts for around 85% of all resources imported from South Africa, making it a critically important trade route for Namibia .”He said the issue highlighted the urgent need for harmonisationof policies and regulations across southern Africa to facilitate smoother cargo movement. According to Schmidt, the NLA has approached the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) in an effort to mitigate the situation. LV
