One-stop border will unlock trade value

ZIMBABWE and South Africa this week agreed to immediately start measures to operationalise the Beitbridge OneStop Border Post (OSBP). As part of the firm undertaking to operationalise the OSBP, President Mugabe and President Jacob Zuma directed their ministers and officials to fast-track operationalisation of the OSBP and immediately appoint a Joint Technical Committee to develop the necessary legal framework for the project.

This is indeed a welcome development as the Beitbridge Border Post is one of the busiest ports of entry in Africa. Given its size and traffic flow any delays at the border will affect the smooth flow of business a development that might prove costly to both nations.

In 2016, Zimbabwe exported to South Africa goods worth $2,25 billion dollars while at the same time importing goods worth $2,15 billion. These are huge figures, but we believe more business can be done if the stress associated with the current state of the border post are removed.

We believe the border post and its pointless bureaucracy, combined with the corruption that goes on, inhibit trade between the two countries.

Ask any business operator and they will tell you that border clearance processes are among the most problematic links in the supply chain and frequently undermine competitiveness by increasing the cost and reducing reliability of supply.

Also, corruption and the desire of people to buy and sell goods across borders create endless opportunities for smuggling, tax evasion and cross-border crime — to the detriment of the two countries’ economies with Zimbabwe coming worse off.

It is against this background that we welcome the operationalisation of the OSBP which in our view will result in improved circulation of goods. The concept of the One Stop Border Post (OSBP) is that traffic crossing the border need to only stop at one border post.

For traffic coming into Zimbabwe they don’t have to stop at the South African side, but go straight to the Zimbabwean side where we believe officials from Zimbabwe and South Africa will work together. For traffic going to South Africa they will go straight to the South Africa side of the border.

Thus each border post handles incoming traffic only, with exit and entry procedures completed in the same building.

Given the number of trucks crossing into Zimbabwe and some proceeding to Zambia, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, every day the OSBP will be big on time saving. If the OSBP is to be equipped with electronic customs systems while at the same time eliminating non-tariff barriers it will reduce transit times for traders and transport costs to business leading to more effective use of available resources and assets, which will ultimately, we hope, lead to lower consumer prices.

It’s not only trucks that will benefit from the OSBP. Cross border traders, many of whom are women, make their living on a daily basis selling things like crafts and artefacts. The clearing agents too should be anticipating the future with increased trade, which in itself will create jobs.

For the staff working at the border, the OSBP should be an exciting prospect if it comes with modern equipment in modern buildings.

There is clearly no easy, fast or obvious solution to the border issue, but a OSBP could be a good start.