RTFP

OSBP: Zambia – Zimbabwe

 

The border post at Chirundu on the Zambezi River is one of the busiest inland border crossings in the whole of southern and eastern Africa with an average of 270 trucks a day carrying goods between Zambia, DR Congo, Tanzania and Malawi and the countries south. Private vehicles must weave their way, for several kilometres on both sides of the border, in and out of queues of trucks which have to w ait an average of 4 days to clear Customs. With an average of 581 travellers a day passing through Immigration, the scale of the traffic congestion becomes clear.

At present, there are Customs and Immigration facilities on both sides of the border and the two countries have recently erected new buildings to handle the large volume of traffic. At the same time, JICA (which is also cooperating on the establishment of the OSBP) has built a new bridge spanning the Zambezi to replace the old one.

There has been considerable support for the OSBP at Chirundu and this culminated in August 2007 with both countries formally signing a bilateral agreement to establish the innovative border. Zimbabwe’s parliament has already approved the legislation necessary for its introduction (since there are complex sovereignty and security issues involved with officials from one country working on the soil of another) and the legislation is ready for final approval in Zambia (and just awaiting a convenient session of parliament).

It is not just Customs and Immigration officials who are present at Chirundu (or any border). Both Zambia and Zimbabwe have some 15 government agencies present including, for example, the Bureaux of Standards (who must ensure that imported goods reach the necessary quality criteria); the Environmental Councils and Health Ministries; the Police; Drug Enforcement Commissions; Ministries of Transport (who assess axle loads etc); Agriculture etc.

Chirundu is also a major transit point for buses travelling from Johannesburg and/or Harare. Since these often carry passengers operating as cross-border traders, the buses often carry a considerable amount of commercial goods – which again delays the clearance process.

The project to establish the OSBP at Chirundu has been running since…. and although the aim is to officially open it in 2008, much work still remains to be done.

Further reading: “Modern & Efficient Border Controls: The Theory of OSBPs and lessons Learned on the Chirundu OSBP Project” – Kingsley Chanda, Project Manager

“Overview of Chirundu Border Crossing – Design Outline” – Michel Zarnowiecki, Jan 2008

Baseline Survey ???