Eastern, Southern transport digital system launched
Anew digital system used to monitor and speed up cross-border truck movements and driver health checks at borders in Eastern and Southern Africa was launched at the Tlokweng Border Post on Friday.
When addressing the dignitaries from SADC, German Embassy, and the European Union, the Minister of Communications, Knowledge and Technology Thulaganyo Segokgo said the Corridor Trip Management System (CTMS) would be rolled out to all SADC member states and tripartite and/or partners on the mainland to facilitate trade, transport, and movement of persons. He added that through CTMS, the intentions of the tripartite regional economic communities of COMESA, EAC, and SADC in immediate and longer terms include facilitating management of safe transit in cross-border road transport operations, maintaining a record of drivers and crew members’ medical compliance, monitor progression of road trips by tracking vehicle, cargo and driver, and expedite border-crossing through integration with other systems such as Immigration and Customs Management Systems.
“The implementation of this project would not have come at a better time than now, as it resonates well with the President of the Republic of Botswana’s drivers of the Reset Agenda on Digitalisation and Saving Botswana’s population from COVID-19.
“Saving the population from the ravages of COVID-19 is without any prejudice to foreign nationals resident in the country or who are on transit. The CTMS has proven to be a highly effective and efficient digital solution in the management of safe cross-border road transport and compliance with COVID-19 requirements by operators and drivers.
“This is because the system provides for a simplified procedure, which reduced the need for numerous documents to be completed by drivers and officials at checkpoints. It also limits human interaction for exchange of documents and reduced risk of contamination or infection when documents are exchanged,” he explained.
He also pointed out that the CTMS was already installed at all nine ports of entry in Botswana namely Tlokweng, Kazungula Road, Mamuno, Ngoma, Pioneer, Ramatlabama, Martin’s Drift, and Ramokgwebana thus covering sections of both the Trans Kalahari Corridor and North Corridor. Segokgo also said through the implementation of that system they stood to benefit immensely from that innovation as they strive to improve operational efficiency in the provision of service for cross-border road transport operations.
For his part, SADC deputy executive secretary for regional integration, Thembinkosi Mhlongo said they were aware that from 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted economies worldwide, leading to a partial or total lockdowns of
economies, high death tolls, and millions of job losses while putting livelihoods at risk. He explained that the adverse effects of the pandemic in Africa were mostly channelled in demand for goods and services, and disrupted supply chains and recovery. He said the services sectors from tourism to transportation, construction, and goods and services led to deterioration in countries’ fiscal position, inflationary pressures, disruption in supply chains, layoff, and decline in investments and financial services. They were under severe contraction due to compression through an economic slowdown, and contraction and compression in demand generally being slow.
“This crisis has also revealed the extreme vulnerability of the African services sector to global markets and the need to digitalise the sectors.
“In this context, the tripartite of COMESA, EAC, and SADC and the member and partner states, with support from the European Union and us urgently address some of the persisting socio-economic challenges in German Development Cooperation, are devising and implementing measures that can consider COVID-19 as a catalyst for change and reform.
“It is now helping to reduce the impacts of COVID-19 on their economies and promote safe regional trade and transport facilitation,” Mhlongo said.