28 Sep 2022

Government should look into commercialising borders in the Kgalagadi District in order to boost trade and tourism.

Speaking during the tour of Bokspits Border Post by Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Ms Peggy Serame recently, Member of Parliament  for Kgalagadi South, Mr Sam Brooks said Bokspits, McCathy’s Rust, Middlepits, Makopong and Bray borders were some of the important contributors to an efficient supply chain system.

The MP also noted that commercial trucks and travellers used the borders on a daily basis, adding that commercialising them would also create employment opportunities for Kgalagadi residents. 

He also argued that the district had such a great tourism potential that commercialising the borders would be a strategic move to boost the district’s economy.

Mr Brooks also noted that the Bokspits border was the closest to the South African tourism hub of Cape Town.  “Commercialising the border will link more tourists to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park,” he said.

Furthermore, MP Brooks called for the Bokspits airstrip to be gazetted in order to improve aviation inter-connectivity.

For her part, Ms Serame called for all departments and agencies responsible for processing exports and imports to work as a team. She said safety and security, customs, immigration, agriculture and health officials at borders should work together to deliver good service. 

She also urged them to share the limited resources at their disposal. “We are one government,” she said.

She acknowledged that employees at the Bokspits border faced challenges such as limited resources, shortage of manpower, accommodation, border fence vandalism and utilities which impeded apt service delivery.

Minister Serame also urged border officials to implement President Dr Mokgwetsi Masisi’s Reset Agenda by improving their processes in the workplace, starting with basic things that would enable them to deal with bigger challenges.

She urged Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS) officials to work with other departments at the border and form formidable, united and committed teams that delivered services to customers.

Ms Serame also said due diligence must be given to the tendering process to avoid awarding tenders to people who failed to complete projects on time, even though they were given first priority under the citizen economic empowerment policy. 

She said winning bidders should not hold multiple projects as they could overwhelm them and hinder them from timely delivering. A BURS officer-in-charge at the Bokspits border, Mr Alfred Masokwane said the border should be developed to service customers adequately.

On other issues, Mr Masokwane decried shortage of staff and accommodation. 

He said lack of accommodation had caused some employees to decline transfer to the area. 

He also noted that the same staff members at Bokspits manned Two Rivers Border Post. 

He said they needed to digitise the border and do away with manual work. ENDS