03 Jun 2019

Member countries of the Trans Kalahari Corridor being Botswana, Namibia and South Africa are empowered by the Memorandum of Agreement that was signed in 2003 to conduct the annual joint law enforcement operations, which are vital in ensuring seamless movement of goods and people between them.

This was remarked by the Trans Kalahari Corridor Secretariat executive director, Mr Lesley Mpofu recently at Sese junction near Jwaneng during the official launch of this year’s joint enforcement operation.

Mr Mpofu said that the operation was also necessary to eliminate any criminal activities that might occur along the highway that runs from Gauteng Province in South Africa through Botswana to Swakopmund in Namibia.

He said because of such importance to the three member countries, members needed to meet time and again to measure compliance to agreed standards to ensure the corridor did not lose its reputation and risk investors shunning it.

He said the objective was to increase the visibility of law enforcement along the corridor as well as enforce regulation on general trade facilitation such as immigration.

He therefore called for harmonisation of any conflicting regulations between the members. 

He said a decision had been taken that every member country established a national committee that would locally coordinate key decisions by the members.

For his part, Namibia  representative, Dr Cedric Limbo said that the benefits of sharing operation costs of the highway were already being felt in his country, such as the construction of infrastructure in the form of roads and improvement of the maritime sub-sector through the proceeds of the trade along the corridor.

He said that the relationship between the three countries gave members a competitive economic advantage in the region.

 For his part, Mr Segodi Mogotsi of South Africa promised his country’s continued working relations through the joint operation of the corridor.

He also promised that they would continue to implement the corridor’s five-year strategic plan as well as help in the financial challenges that continued to bedevil the operations. 

Mr Mogotsi said the corridor should also strive to change the lives of people along the highway. ENDS