Category / One Stop Border Posts

by Mike Poverello

Rwanda-Burundi Establish Second One-Stop Border Post

Rwanad-Burundi OSBPA one stop border post has been established at Ruhwa in Rusizi District order to reduce the amount of time spent by traders clearing goods at the Rwanda-Burundi border. The one-stop border post is also expected to bolster trade between the two countries and see an infrastructure overhaul at the border area, according to the Minister of State for Transport, Dr Alexis Nzahabwanimana.

Under the one border post, travellers will access services at one spot unlike in the past when documents were processed at two locations – one in Rwanda and the other across the Burundi border. The process will now take about five minutes as opposed to 30.

With the new system, immigration, emigration and customs officials from the two countries share offices to ease the clearance procedures for travellers entering or departing either country.

Dr Nzahabwanimana observed that the post is an indication of existing good relations between the two countries and that it will “strengthen brotherhood between our peoples and boost trade between our two countries.”

“The post will ease the movement of people and goods,” Nzahabwanimana on Wednesday. “It will also reduce delays that people incurred while clearing at the border in the past.”

He urged employees to seize the opportunity and improve on the quality of services they provide. He also advised them to exploit modern technologies if they want to make a difference in what they do.

Burundi’s Minister of Transport and Public Works, Deogratias Rurimunzu described the move as “another step forward in the cooperation and friendship” between Rwanda and Burundi. He observed that the border will promote bilateral trade and cooperation abetween both countries.

“Work diligently, use your skills, pto provide better services and put these infrastructures to good use for them to benefit our population,” Rurimunzu told employees at the border post.

About the project

The idea to establish the one-stop border post was first floated in 2009. It is part of a larger project which comprises border infrastructures including administrative blocks, staff quarters, a warehouse, a weighbridge, social facilities, street lighting and water sources, among others.

The project also comprised the renovation of a 50.6 kilometre road between Nyamitanga and Ruhwa on the Burundian side as well as the construction of Ntendezi-Mwityazo Road on the Rwandan side.

The project was sponsored by the African Development Bank (AfDB), at a cost of about Rwf32billion on either side of the border. Ruhwa one stop border post is the second shared between Rwanda and Burundi following the establishment of the Gasenyi-Nemba border post in Bugesera district in 2011. Source: The New Times, Rwanda

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by Mike Poverello

Study into the cooperation of border management agencies in Zimbabwe

tralacZimbabwe is a landlocked developing country with a population of 14 million, sharing common borders with Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia. Zimbabwe has 14 border posts, varying in size in accordance with the volume of traffic passing through them. Beitbridge, the only border post with South Africa, is the largest and busiest, owing to the fact that it is the gateway to the sea for most countries along the North-South Corridor. Zimbabwe thus provides a critical trade link between several countries in the southern African regions. The need for the country, especially its border posts, to play a trade facilitative role can therefore not be over-emphasised.

Trade facilitation has become an important issue on the multilateral, regional and Zimbabwean trade agendas, and with it, border management efficiency. Border management concerns the administration of borders. Border agencies are responsible for the processing of people and goods at points of entry and exit, as well as for the detection and regulation of people and goods attempting to cross borders illegally. Efficient border management requires the cooperation of all border management agencies and such cooperation can only be achieved if proper coordination mechanisms, legal framework and institutions are established.

This study explores how border agencies in Zimbabwe operate and cooperate in border management. The objectives of the study were to:

  • Identify agencies involved in border management in Zimbabwe;
  • Analyse the scope of their role/involvement in border management; and
  • Review domestic policy and legislation (statutes of these agencies) specifically to identify the legal provisions that facilitate cooperation among them.

Visit the Tralac Trade Law website to download the study.

Source: TRALAC

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by Mike Poverello

New Ressano Garcia Cargo Terminal Operational By December

Mozambique flagA new cargo terminal will be opened at the Ressano Garcia – Lebombo border crossing before the end of the year to speed up the processing of customs clearance for goods moving between Mozambique and South Africa.

To further the project an agreement has been reached between the Mozambique Tax Authority (ATM) and a consortium composed of the Matola Cargo Terminal (Frigo), Matrix and the “Zambian Border Crossing Company”.

The 15 year concession contract was signed on 14 June in Ressano Garcia by the chairperson of ATM, Rosario Fernandes, and by the managing director of Frigo, Filipe Franco.

Filipe Franco told AIM that a new truck terminal is being built where facilities will be available for all the necessary services including customs, migration, and officials dealing with health and agriculture.

He pointed out that “our objective is to ensure that the terminal will be completed and operational by December”, adding that the consortium is composed of companies with a great deal of experience in managing cargo terminals.

Rosario Fernandes said that the cargo terminal project will facilitate trade by speeding up customs clearance at the border post through a one stop system and the single electronic window system which is being implemented throughout Mozambique. Source: AIM (Mozambique News Agency)

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