CHIRUNDU ONE STOP BORDER POST (OSBP) TO OPEN 24/7

?"It is hereby declared that in terms of section 41 of the Immigration Act [Chapter 4:02], the Minister has extended the operating hours for the Chirundu One Stop Border Post to twenty-four (24) hours”. Zimbabwe Government Gazette (General Notice 1582 of 2023)

On October 13, 2023, Zimbabwe and SADC awoke to the news that the Chirundu One Stop Border Post (OSBP) would be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is a positive step by the governments of Zimbabwe and Zambia toward enhancing trade facilitation along the North-South corridor. According to (Curtis, 2009)Chirundu is one of the busiest border posts on the corridor, and delays here can result in a considerable surcharge on transportation expenses.

The Chirundu OSBP was created in accordance with WTO TFA Article 8: Border Agency Cooperation. The WTO TFA expected mutually agreed-upon collaboration, such as aligning working hours, processes and formalities, sharing of facilities and infrastructure, cooperative controls, and the development of OSBP between Zambian and Zimbabwean borders. The idea was to reduce waiting and transit times for consignments crossing the border, which would dramatically reduce logistical expenses for SADC businesses.? As the saying goes, "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link," and Chirundu OSBP is an important connection in the north-south corridor. (Ngarachu et al., 2019)state that Land borders in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region are crucial for facilitating regional value chains and trade development.

According to (Curtis, 2009)the economic function of trade and transit corridors is to promote both internal and external trade by providing efficient transport and logistics services. Generally, several parties and stakeholders contribute different components and services within a corridor. Border agents and stakeholders include different levels of government agencies responsible for infrastructure, agencies at border posts, transport operators, and logistics service providers such as freight forwarders, clearing agents, etc. Unless the services provided by these parties are properly synchronized, their actions may not yield an efficient system and the corridor may not function well.

?The border posts at Beitbridge and Chirundu are critical linkages in the North-South Corridor because they are critical in both regional integration and development initiatives. The opening of Chirundu OSBP for 24 hours a day, seven days a week implies that Chirundu and Beitbridge have synchronized operating hours. Traffic transiting through Zimbabwe from Durban, South Africa enters at Beitbridge and exits at Chirundu, northbound. Inadequate synchronization of working hours along a trade and transit corridor produces bottlenecks at one point, eroding the benefits achieved at the entry point. Previously, vehicles had to stop somewhere along the way in order to get to Chirundu by 6 a.m., resulting in unnecessary overnight boarding fees for carriers. (Ngarachu et al., 2019)identify standing time as a significant element in logistics expenses in Sub-Saharan Africa. Chirundu is in a National Park, and having vehicles parking and staying for extended periods causes environmental degradation as well as human-wildlife conflict.? Modern Customs should also consider environmental safety thus long stoppage time will result in garbage being thrown around and could result in water pollution along the Zambezi river.

?Any trade facilitation initiative that does not cater for women and youth in trade, in my opinion, is failing. Women play a key part in cross-border trade, and female cross-border traders frequent the Chirundu border post. Every day, women travel between Harare, Zimbabwe, and Lusaka, Zambia, to purchase merchant items. Because women's livelihoods are strongly reliant on borders, the development is crucial for women's trade facilitation. The fact that the border will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week reduces the length of time a woman is away from home while sourcing supplies.

Following the building of the OSBP, the decision to operate Chirundu OSBP 24 hours a day, seven days a week has elevated the border to a higher place in the Trade Facilitation ranking. According to The Herald (16 October 2023, https://www.herald.co.zw/chirundu-border-now-open-24-hours), many economic commentators praised the two governments for the effort, which will improve the ease of doing business along the North-South corridor. Failure to increase border efficiency can undermine the region's commerce and diminish the gains derived from the AFCFTA; thus, now is the moment to improve border efficiencies before the AFCFTA is fully implemented.

What other initiatives can African nations put in place to derive full benefits from the AFCFTA?

?Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are of the author and do not reflect the opinion of any institution.

Bibliography

Curtis, B. (2009). The Chirundu Border Post Detailed monitoring of transit times. SSATP Discussion Paper No. 10, 10.

Ngarachu, A., Wood, C., Krogman, H., Mudenda, D., Ngarachu1, A., Wood2, C., Krogman1, H., & Tshuma3, E. (2019). Bottlenecks or Growth Zones? A Study of the Chirundu and Beitbridge Border Economies. Southern African Journal of Policy and Development, 4(2), 12–2019.

The Herald (16 October 2023, https://www.herald.co.zw/chirundu-border-now-open-24-hours),

?

?