NATIONAL economic growth is largely dependent on ease and clear cut local and international trade.
The trade in both goods and services are necessitated by the fact that no single country can produce all its needs, hence the interdependence that has been created by various nations.
Zambia, like other countries, has not been left out in harnessing its business relationS with the international community.
This is evidenced by its membership to various arrangements that directly promote international trade like the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Zambia has developed its own mechanisms aimed at promoting foreign trade, among them, the upgrading and construction of modern border facilities.
It is in that vein that Government under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative constructed a US$25-million trade facility at Kasumbalesa Border Post in Chililabombwe.
The structure was constructed soon after it envisaged results of enhancing the clearance of cargo carriers and other goods and services.
This was indeed a welcome development as having a modern facility on the Zambian side would increase the number of economic benefits for Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
This reduced the cost of doing business due to the fast clearance of cargo on both sides.
The new structure has improved monitoring and security mechanisms as it has features like the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) high zoom cameras remote monitored from a control room.
The installed Information Technology (IT) systems enabled Government and other agencies access pertinent security, safety, clearance and health data resulting in improved monitoring of illegal items, trafficking, hazardous goods, livestock and matters relating to cold storage.
This modernisation of border facilities was cardinal to Zambia’s social and economic agenda and the PPP initiative is probably the surest way of speeding up the process.
When the border was constructed, increase in the number of traffic lanes was envisioned to reduce the clearing process that would have made the Kasumbalesa Border Post commensurately increase in revenue to the national coffers.
But this has not been the situation and one does not know how the clearing process is done.
Of late, there was an influx of foreigners who had seized business opportunities around the border, with DRC traders literally taking over the place, including the no-man’s land and this raised business prospects at the border.
One customs officer observed that the fact that Zambia depends more on exports, traders from DRC crossing the border with goods in small quantities are allowed though they know that some use illegal entry and exit points.
The unending clearance processes of man, machine and goods comes with its own constraint.
Truckers and traders are forced to sleep in their trucks and on the road which exposes them to a number of negative things.
Truckers and traders are exposed to insecurity on either side of the border such that they lose belongings and miss parts from their vehicles.
This has not been all, traders have also been exposed to harassment by junior police officers who demand money to transport their goods.
In the proposal to address the challenges faced by traders and truckers, the Congolese government assured Zambian traders maximum security and freedom of movement while on their business errands in that country.
This was shortly after the DRC received complaints of harassment and insecurity of foreign truckers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Truck Association of Zambia (SATDAZ) through Zambian, Zimbabwean and South African consul generals in Lubumbashi.
Congolese interior minister Junenial Lugoma who is in charge of home affairs instructed the police to reduce on check points between Kasumbalesa and Kolwezi to ease the movement of foreign truckers in DRC.
Mr Lugoma was speaking at a meeting with truck drivers, consul generals’ and Congolese government officials at Kasumbalesa border recently.
He says his government would also put up sanitation facilities between Kasumbalesa and Kolwezi as truckers had in the past complained of challenges in this area.
During the same event, Zambian Consul General Davies Sankwana commended the truckers for not engaging in violence but opting to solve their grievances through dialogue.
Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) between Zambia and DRC urged the defense and security wings of the two countries to curb transnational crimes along the common border.
JPC singled out incidences of smuggling, theft of motor vehicles, illegal migration, drug and human trafficking as being rife and threatening the security of both wings.
JPC Chairperson Davies Mwila, who is also Home Affairs Minister, and co-chairperson Evaristo Boshab, who is Congolese vice-prime minister read the communique at the close of the ninth edition.
It was revealed in the meeting that a memorandum of understanding would be signed at the 10th session of the JPC slated for the DRC next year to introduce new measures.
To get rid of the envisioned challenges such as theft of goods from either motor vehicles or individuals that come due to delay in clearing process at border posts, the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has decentralised the system.
Out of the ZRA 2014 agenda of easing the clearing process ZRA has put up a Central Processing System (CPS) centre for clearing goods in and out of Congo.
The CPS has designed to have centres in Ndola, Kabwe and Lusaka were cleared goods will be monitored from, and this entails that one would clear their goods from anywhere and at anytime because the process operates 24 hours.
The system is now called Automated System of Customised Data (ASYCUDA).
ZRA corporate and communications manager Mumbuna Kufekisa says the system is time effective and efficient.
With the decentralised clearing process one can now clear goods at any place and the envisioned constraints that come with late clearing such
as congestion, diseases and theft would be resolved.
Trade facilitation (TF) is vital for Africa’s own competitiveness as it will reduce costs for traders.
While tariffs have progressively fallen, the key challenge to intra-African trade is non-tariff barriers that stifle the movement of goods, services and people across borders.
Due to such positive externalities some TF reforms and investments need to be viewed as regional public goods.
The Kazungula Bridge and the Chirundu One-Stop Border Post are just two examples.
Although the Kazungula Bridge connects Zambia and Botswana; most traffic is in transit to the DRC thereby spreading the benefits to a broad region.