THE Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) create further awareness of the benefits of utilising the Walvis Bay corridors through the port of Walvis Bay to potential stakeholders at an information session in Gauteng last week.
‘The success of the Trans-Kalahari Corridor is attributed to the strong relations and common vision held by the governments of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. These three governments have been instrumental in identifying and resolving hurdles along the corridor. Namibia, in line with the SADC Trade Protocol, will continue its contribution towards intra-SADC trade, ultimately integrating our economies regionally and globally,’ the Namibian High Commissioner to South Africa, Marten Kapewasha, said at the event.According to Jowie Mulaudzi, co-chairperson, of the TransKalahari Corridor Management Committee, the Walvis Bay Corridor Group and the Trans Kalahari Corridor Management Committee are partners committed to attaining the ideals of the SADC protocols on trade and transport instruments as well as to enhance trade and relations by improving trade, reduce transportation costs and transit times on our corridors. ‘The success for our corridors is a result of a sound foundation of favourable bilateral and multilateral relations and a functional Public Private Partnership development model. Our corridors have increasingly become competitive and are a trigger for foreign direct investment ‘ said Mulaudzi.She further said that; with the immense growth experienced in SA and especially in Gauteng, SA was proud to note that Namibia, through Walvis Bay was taking a supporting role in SADC to enhance regional economic development and integration.The chairman of the WBCG and Namport CEO, Bisey Uirab, said the corridor group was proud of its achievements in successfully developing the Walvis Bay Corridor as an alternative trade route through Walvis Bay harbour. ‘This is achievable through the excellent working relations, co-operation and enthusiasm of our private and public stakeholders. We see it in the response of the private and public stakeholders to this information sharing event. These efforts will go a long way in the improvement in the utilization of the Walvis Bay Corridors,’ he said.Last month the WBCG held its first information session for this year in Zimbabwe, this was the second one, and next month another information session is scheduled for Botswana.
