03 Jun 2019

Trans-Kalahari Corridor has been hailed as being of strategic value to the corridors member countries and the SADC region at large as it facilitates trade and movement of people and goods.

Officially opening the week-long joint law enforcement operation along the Trans-Kalahari highway near Jwaneng recently, transport and communications minister, Ms Dorcas Makgato said that more importantly, the use of the corridor deepened regional economic integration.

Ms Makgato said its broader goal was to reduce transportation costs and transit times with a view to increasing competitiveness of goods produced in member countries for distribution within the region and internationally.

She also said that countries faced a serious challenge of trans-boundary crime such as illicit drugs and human trafficking and theft of wildlife species among others, which she said called for all law enforcement officers to be more vigilant during such operations and ensure that the users of the corridor were compliant.

“It is equally important to highlight a need to balance law enforcement with road safety education for the users of the corridor. We are faced with a challenge of road fatalities occasioned by drunken driving, fatigue, un-roadworthy and overloaded vehicles, among others,” she said.

She raised a concern at what she noted as a growing trend of road traffic offences recorded along the Trans Kalahari Corridor, indicating that as of May 2017, a total of 147 such cases were recorded with the statistics escalating to 254 last year, an increase of about 73 per cent in a single year.

Ms Makgato said such figures should be of concern and should be thoroughly dealt with by the law enforcement personnel in all three member states.

She reassured other members that Botswana would always commit and reaffirm her position in ensuring that as a key player within the corridor, continuous efforts were being undertaken to ensure the corridor was user friendly.

Ms Makgato also implored members to ensure that regional roads were geared towards achieving the strategic intention of the United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety, which was proclaimed in 2010 and ran from 2011-2020, with the aim to save millions of lives lost on the roads during the decade.

She said while governments were expected to lead the way on the resolutions, it also called for other stakeholders such as the private sector, civil society and the media to take part.

She said to align its initiative with the UN goals, Botswana had already developed a National Road Safety Strategy, which was being implemented by various stakeholders and funded through the Road Safety Fund.

Ms Makgato said for the past three years, P90 million was invested on road safety activities, and therefore implored member states to always explore new initiatives and share best practices to make the corridor more attractive to users.

For his part, the MP for Jwaneng/Mabutsane, Mr Shawn Ntlhaile said members came from afar with the objective of making the most of the Trans Kalahari road in as far as easing trade was concerned and such efforts should be commended.

He said that in Botswana, the road had proven to be beneficial, especially to people that reside alongside it

She implored the member countries to ensure that the road does not become a white elephant. ENDS