4 December 2007
Maputo — The long awaited "one stop" border post between Mozambique and South Africa, will open at Ressano Garcia (Lebombo on the South African side) by March 2009, and current estimates are that it will cost about 130 million US dollars.
The chairperson of the Mozambican Tax Authority, Rosario Fernandes, told reporters that, under an agreement between the two countries, Mozambique is to contribute with 30 million US dollars, while South Africa will pay for the rest.
Meetings between delegations of the countries on this matter are now at an advanced stage, and the next such meeting is scheduled for February.
It is hoped that, with such an undertaking, the waiting time at the border will be reduced, and the volume of trade along the Maputo Corridor, linking South Africa to the port of Maputo, will grow.
Fernandes added that the Mozambican Tax Authority has already started similar contacts with other neighbouring countries, including Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, to establish similar facilities at the common borders.
He noted, however, that such "one stop" border posts call for paying special attention to the specific conditions at each border, because such a plan cannot simply be copied from previous experiences.
"In this kind of project one must think of the technical and economic feasibility before one goes ahead and implements it.
Thus, the Ressano Garcia experience will be very important for us", he said.
This kind of project, he added, is part of the challenges of regional integration, to reduce the constraints on the free movement of people and goods, improve service to the public, and speed up customs clearance.
The 2010 football World Cup, to take place in South Africa, was also a factor behind setting up the Ressano Garcia one stop Border Post, because it is believed that during this period there will be a heightened flow of tourists between South Africa and Mozambique.
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