Southern Africa: SADC Ministers Launch User Pays Model At Wenela Border Post

Transport ministers from three Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states gathered at the Wenela Border Post in the Zambezi region on Wednesday to officially launch the user pays principle (UPP) funding model.

The funding model is designed to ensure fairness and efficiency and requires direct users to pay for services rather than relying on general taxation or broad cost-spreading.

It is recognised as a highly effective method for cost recovery.

The delegation was led by Namibia's deputy minister of works and transport, Hans Haikali, Zambian minister of transport and logistics Frank Tayali and the Democratic Republic of Congo's deputy prime minister and minister of transport, communications and roads, Jean-Pierre Bemba.

It also reflected on the ideals of the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lumbumbashi Agreement signed in Zambia in 2010.

In his remarks, Haikali said the corridor management institution made up of these countries is vital in facilitating the movement of goods, services and persons by "simplifying and harmonising the requirements and controls that govern the movements of goods and persons."

He said one of the achievements is the 24-hour operation of the Wenela Border Post and the establishment of the secretariat that will coordinate and facilitate the lowering of trade barriers, revising trade rules, and improving the exports of SADC and the whole continent.

The Zambezi region serves as a gateway to landlocked nations, providing a vital link for the 2010 agreement. Haikali pointed out that over 60% of the cargo handled at the Walvis Bay Port currently moves through the region, underscoring its economic importance.

The UPP will fund the secretariat.

"This (the UPP) is the only way that the three member states can fast-track deeper regional integration, which is key for economic development," Haikali said.

Despite notable achievements, he said pending constraints still remain, which include the establishment of a one-stop border post at the Katima Mulilo Border Post, development and implementation of an integrated bond guarantee, and the development of truck ports.

These projects, he said, will form part of the first task to be implemented by the secretariat.

Read the original article on Namibian.