SINCE its establishment in 1998, the Trans-Kalahari Corridor (TKC), which is one of the main trade routes of the southern Africa region, is yet to realise its full potential.
The TKC is a route from the Gauteng Province of South Africa, via Gaborone in Botswana to the port of Walvis Bay, to Europe and the Americas. Members of the TKC management committee, which is supported by the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) as its secretariat, are meeting in Windhoek for two days to agree on joint actions to open up this trade route for the benefit of SADC countries.The committee was yesterday urged to work on key issues on its agenda which have been hanging for too long, and on how to attract people to use the route.Most heavy commercial traffic and traders, especially from South Africa, are said to still prefer the popular ports of Durban and Cape Town.Addressing the meeting yesterday, the Permanent Secretary of Works, Transport and Communication, Shihaleni Ndjaba, said more needed to be done to minimise the transportation and logistics costs on this route to enhance the trade competitiveness of the area.He said it was high time the committee moved on in a number of areas such as implementing a corridor bond guarantee scheme to reduce the cost of transit, harmonising axle-load limits along the corridor, ensuring uniformity of enforcement measures to control overloading and extending the border operating hours at Schilpadshek/ Pioneer Gate to match those of the Trans-Kalahari/ Mamuno border post.”I am aware that your committee has been operational since 2001, serviced by an interim secretariat through the WBCG.This arrangement is far from satisfactory as it does not provide for effective implementation of the TKCMC action programme,” Ndjaba told the committee members.”I, therefore, urge this meeting to take concrete steps to finalise establishment of the secretariat and utilise funds pledged by the member countries to deliver benefits to the corridor users.”The TKC management committee was established through a memorandum of understanding by the transport ministers of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, with the sole objective to facilitate the smooth flow of trade along the Trans-Kalahari highway.The committee agreed to establish a permanent secretariat in July 2004 in Pretoria, South Africa, but failed to implement the decision.The meeting ends today.Members of the TKC management committee, which is supported by the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) as its secretariat, are meeting in Windhoek for two days to agree on joint actions to open up this trade route for the benefit of SADC countries.The committee was yesterday urged to work on key issues on its agenda which have been hanging for too long, and on how to attract people to use the route.Most heavy commercial traffic and traders, especially from South Africa, are said to still prefer the popular ports of Durban and Cape Town.Addressing the meeting yesterday, the Permanent Secretary of Works, Transport and Communication, Shihaleni Ndjaba, said more needed to be done to minimise the transportation and logistics costs on this route to enhance the trade competitiveness of the area.He said it was high time the committee moved on in a number of areas such as implementing a corridor bond guarantee scheme to reduce the cost of transit, harmonising axle-load limits along the corridor, ensuring uniformity of enforcement measures to control overloading and extending the border operating hours at Schilpadshek/ Pioneer Gate to match those of the Trans-Kalahari/ Mamuno border post.”I am aware that your committee has been operational since 2001, serviced by an interim secretariat through the WBCG.This arrangement is far from satisfactory as it does not provide for effective implementation of the TKCMC action programme,” Ndjaba told the committee members.”I, therefore, urge this meeting to take concrete steps to finalise establishment of the secretariat and utilise funds pledged by the member countries to deliver benefits to the corridor users.”The TKC management committee was established through a memorandum of understanding by the transport ministers of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, with the sole objective to facilitate the smooth flow of trade along the Trans-Kalahari highway.The committee agreed to establish a permanent secretariat in July 2004 in Pretoria, South Africa, but failed to implement the decision.The meeting ends today.
