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Traders operating between Malawi and South Africa will now have reduced hurdles on the borders when clearing their goods following the introduction of the Durban-Blantyre Transit Project scheduled to be implemented from February 1, 2006.
Speaking in Blantyre Monday when he opened a three-day Southern African Development Community (Sadc) heads of customs meeting, Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) deputy commissioner-general Ralph Kamoto said the project will eliminate all bottlenecks faced by cross-border traders.
He said the Durban-Blantyre Transit Project will provide a smooth trading environment while Sadc gears for the introduction of a Customs Union by 2010.
“The introduction of the new system will mean that countries like Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa will have a single customs document which will just be stamped in the borders unlike in the present situation where traders fill different forms at different border posts.
“We believe the system will help to reduce time spent on the borders which will in-turn drastically reduce the transit time of goods from the current three days,” said Kamoto.
Further to that, Kamoto said the reduction in time spent on the borders will reduce expenses incurred by traders which are later passed on to the consumer.
The project will run on a pilot phase for three months up to end April 2006 after which it will be reviewed to check effectiveness.
Sadc customs and trade facilitation adviser Happias Kuzvinzwa said the introduction of a Sadc Customs Union by 2010 will present a great challenge to member states and therefore the need for them to make advance preparations.
For his part, Road Transport Operators Association (RTOA) executive director Shadreck Matsimbe said the Durban-Blantyre Transit Project will make road hauliers more efficient as they will be transporting goods within a short period of time.
“This should help us to do a lot of work within a short time unlike in the past when we had to delay in the borders,” he said.
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