Business was brought to a standstill at Chirundu Border post as the much awaited commissioning of the Chirundu one stop Border post, which is reportedly one of the busiest border post in the sub region.
Movement of traffic, human and goods alike, was at stand still as early as 08:00 hours in readiness for the opening of the border post separating Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The one stop border post will definitely ease the movement of the goods and human traffic between the two countries, a development that has been hailed by the two governments.
President Rupiah Banda opened the border on the Zimbabwean side while Zimbabwean counterpart Robert Mugabe did the same on the Zambian side.
Afterwards the duo re – affirmed their countries’ regional intergation with Mr. Banda saying the development has come at a critical phase in his country’s economic relationship with other countries for the benefit of the regional trade.
Mr Banda said the opening of a one stop boarder post OSBP, is a milestone in facilitating effective trade in the COMESA region and beyond.
The president further said the region cannot continue to do business without the complete overhaul of infrastructure and harmonization of the trade polices adding that the North – South corridor would be able to meet the challenges of inter regional trade.
He noted that the one stop Boarder facility was born out of the COMESA council of ministers in 2005 in Kigali , Rwanda were it was recognized that the flow of trade in the north-south corridor could be enhanced by establishing a one stop Border post in the Eastern and Southern African region.
The president stressed that making Chirundu a one stop boarder post will ease congestion and will reduce transit times for traders and transporters adding that this will promote efficient flow of goods resulting in increased trade.
Mr Banda noted that Chirundu’s strategic location of trade between Southern and Eastern Africa and its gate way between two busy regions is ideal as a pilot site for the One Stop Boarder Post OSBP control programme.
He however noted that the boarder will is expected to serve as a model for other one stop boarder posts in the region.
And President Mugabe says the one stop boarder post will lead to the accelerated harmonization of COMESA, SADC and EAC integration programmes.
Mr Mugabe noted that the establishment of a one stop boarder post will stimulate economic activity with improvement of infrastructure and smoothen traffic on both sides .
He appealed for development and cooperation partners to join Zambia and Zimbabwe in the development of Beitbridge into a one stop boarder post to compliment efficiencies at chirundu and trunk North-South routes.
He also appealed to member state in the North – South Corridor to also priorities the establishment of the one stop boarder post to smoothen trade in the region.
And speaking earlier Japanese Ambassador to Zambia Hideto Mitamura said a one stop boarder post is important as it will promote economic development in Africa.
The ambassador noted that this will generate growth and reduce poverty in the region adding that this will accelerate economic development and promote the growth of African countries.
He said the Japanese government is grateful to see the completion of Chirundu one stop boarder adding that it is important for economic development in the region.
The ambassador noted that once a one stop boarder post becomes operational, delays will fall adding that this will reduce costs for businesses and increases their competitiveness by ensuring that products reach faster.
Meanwhile COMESA, Director of infrastructure Development Amos Marawe said the creation of a one border post will limit the duplication of border agency interventions in the region.
Mr Marawe added that the one border post at chirundu is leading forward for creating other single border stops , not only for this regions but for the Africa as a whole .
He noted that the one stop boarder post is making a positive and important contribution to the realization of Africa’s integration ambitions.
Mr Marawe noted the need for the central corridor and the eastern community to to take the lead as the COMESA region has taken the lead to ease aid to trade between countries in the region.
ZANIS
Thats what we call development…..we used to waste a lot of time at that border dupilcating same procedures from both sides of the border. We need more of such creativity and reduce time wastage in many areas of development pa Zambia.
There is also a BIG need to decentralise government services to district levels so that people dont have to travel to Lusaka everytime they need a government service like acquiring a passport.
This is a good development as it will reduce the costs associated with transporting goods from and to Zambia and will therefore provide new markets for Zambian manufacturers. This has also come in good time following the development of Multi-facility Economic Zones in the Copperbelt and one set for construction in Lusaka.
Zambian manufacturers must however know that new markets means new competition and must therefore take care when it comes to quality control of their products. Otherwise this is a most welcome development.
Kijo
That is a very good suggestion. Documents can be done on a provincial or even district level. We must computerize the system to the point where acquiring of documents can be done on a provincial or even district level.
Am not getting this. What is One Border Stop Facility mean? (OSBP)
Atleast it was worth leaving state house to go and commission such a great developmental project. Thez need to have the right man power to appriciate development, I hope technology has been put inplace to counter corruption
Abena Bob, looking sharp. Looks like Tsvangirai has a long wait on his hands if he’s thinking of taking over from this dude. @ No.5, Stevens, if my memory serves me correctly, there used to be “Zimbabwean” and “Zambian” facilities at Chirundu and you had to shuttle between the two facilities to get your customs and immigration work done before you were allowed to cross the border. With the one stop facility, both Zambian and Zimbabwean facilities will be in one building where all immigration and customs formalities will be done for both countries. Theoretically, the effect should be reduced transit times. Knowing bureaucrats, they will probably invent new ways of delaying transit. “Fill in all 5 pages of form CE209… in octuplicate….”
We shall see how effective this will be – that is when we shall express our gratitude. Anyhow, it still wont make it cheaper to haul a shipment from Durban, will it?
#4 Mrs Stevens the OBP concept is designed to harmonise both border procedures between juxtaposed crossing points at the border by incorporating all agencies involved. This simply means once you’re through on the Zim side, there’s no need for you to stop again on the Zambian side and vice-versa. I hope I explained it clearly. Cheers.
Real development oriented, pragmatic and forward looking leadership tirelessly pursuing what is for the common good.One step at a time.Building regional prosperity out of regional stability towards regional economic integration through efficiency and value addition.
Bravo!
This is a good development for both countrie, now they should also computerise and digitarise all boarder procedures atleast to reduce paper work and coast of waiting in the long lines, moreover we also have newpassports with new features.
Mwiponta Mukabwela,
Your propositions are smart and already on the table in advanced stage.This whole initiative has come with ambitious IT plans heavily supported by respective Governments and partners.
ZAMBIA: From Doom To Boom!
By John Whitehead in England*
President Banda provides a rare leadership in Africa
When President Rupiah Bwezani Banda took over the reigns of power in Zambia, a small Southern African nation, the copper dependent economy went on its knees due to the collapse of the metal prices on the foreign market. Tens of thousands of jobs in the copper mines were at risk as the owners threatened to scale-down operations due to the global economic meltdown.
“Care and Maintenance” became an infamous phrase investors used as a cautious approach to put thousands of miners on the streets. But President Banda, 73, took a bold stance which is not usually common among many African leaders when it comes to dealing with investors – especially foreign investors with…
especially foreign investors with big connections to western capitals. The first victim of the closure was Luanshya Copper Mine (LCM), an old dilapidated mine but which is the only mainstay for the poor people in Luanshya town on Zambia’s copperbelt – which shares a huge chunk of underground copper deposits with neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). President Banda flew to Luanshya and, in no uncertain tones, warned the owners that should they decide to place the mine under “care and maintenance”, they should expect a Government takeover in order to preserve jobs. At first it sounded like a joke! But as events turned out, President Banda stuck to his guns and had the mine taken over and sold to new owners – China Non-Ferrous Mining Corporation (NFC) of China. The mine…
The mine shafts are now rolling and many Zambians are getting back their jobs at this mine, which has a history of previous closures though.
The Presidential intervention in the mining crisis is understandable. The sector contributes about 70 percent of the country’s total foreign exchange earnings and currently employs about 58,000 direct jobs. Therefore, Government had to take action and there was no better person than the Head of State to issue the warning against investors who planned to close-down the mines. The stance by President Banda sent shock waves to others in the industry who had also threatened to close down. Most of them stayed the course and only discreetly and quietly downsized. But, in comparison to other mining countries such as DRC and South Africa, Zambia’s…
Zambia’s handling of the crisis has been above average.
Another mine, Munali Nickel, which was placed under “care and maintenance”, is also due to reopen following its acquisition by a strategic equity partner – another achievement by President Banda.
But instead of receiving kudos from the opposition and trade unions for his efforts, President Banda has become a subject of abusive attacks. The private media roasts him for a meal everyday! Even here in England where there is press freedom, you cannot read such uncouth editorials on the Queen or even the Prime Minister. Editors do use civil language to criticise the leadership. But not in Zambia!
The above notwithstanding, one has to stand on an ivory tower and watch what Zambia is going through in comparison with other African…
African countries in similar situation. By far, President Banda has provided a mature and steady leadership that was needed for a country going through such economic difficulties. Interestingly, even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – they rarely sing praises for African countries – has publicly admitted that Zambia weathered the economic meltdown unscathed, thanks to the leadership of President Banda. The IMF said Zambia’s economy showed “considerable resilience in the face of the global economic crisis” and predicted a growth above the projected five percent. Inflation was moderating, due to softening of food prices and a limited reversal of the earlier depreciation of its currency, the Kwacha. Moreover, the international lender said the revised inflation target of 12% by…
12% by end-2009 was well within reach. The country is posed to register a bumper harvest in the 2009/2010 farming season following the personal intervention of President Banda in the early procurement and distribution of farming inputs – fertilizer and seed was distributed to all the 72 districts by August, the earliest it reached the beneficiaries in many years.
Another foreign watchdog, Transparency International in its latest Global Corruption Perception Index put Zambia ahead of many African countries – an improvement scored under President Banda’s one year of leadership (2008 to 2009 survey). Equally, the Commonwealth Business Council at its recent meeting in Trinidad and Tobago rated Zambia’s ‘Cost of Doing Business’ as having significantly improved in just one year!…
African countries rarely score such goals within a year – indeed these achievements are attributed to a man on top. President Banda’s credentials are equally impressive, in comparison with most African Heads of State.
He is a western trained economist (studied at the prestigious Lund University in Sweden) and had a stint at Cambridge University in England (Obtained his masters’ degree). He served in lofty jobs at a tender age – Ambassador to the United Nations, Washington and Egypt before becoming Foreign Minister. He served as Minister of State for Mines as well as Chief Executive Officer of National Agriculture Marketing Board and the Rural Development Corporation.
One needs to visit many African countries to realize how luck Zambia is to have such a leader with such…
have such a leader with such credentials. In fact, his critics say he travels too much – but history in Africa has showed that leaders who rarely leave their countries are undemocratic and corrupt and fear to travel because scandals maybe unleashed in their absence. Or least they are deposed! Even US President Barack Hussein Obama has traveled 20 times in less than a year since he became President – foreign engagement are part of the occupation of any leader worthy the name.
President Banda, maybe, he will be remembered after his term has ended – a truly Zambian way of honouring good leadership. This time around, they are all busy showering praises for late President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa (who passed on last year) for having been a good leader when in fact they used to call him…
they used to call him “a Cabbage” when he was alive!
*The author is a London-based Independent Researcher specializing on African Affairs and Leadership. He has traveled frequently in Africa and studied the political leadership of many countries. He also works as a background researcher for Risks Consultancy Firms around the World
abaleya,
Zambia is a nation blessed by God to have a leader of RB’s resolve, steadfastness and pragmatism.His is evident by the way he has ignored armchair criticism but weathered the Global economic crisis despite being a nation dictated by big economies.
They used to say the same thing about the EU.”It is just trade”.Now the EU has a presindent without election.Now they are pushing Africa to do the same thing.Today is one-stop border post tomorrow NO borders–In simple english it is called Global Government.
Do not be too excited about this. Wait and see how the whole system works, then you can comment. They will come up with other ways of wasting our time. Wait and see!
You are welcome to praise and worship God with a virtual church which has live chat and services throughout the week. lifechurch.tv
@ 1984
You are absolutely correct. One world power is coming. The signs are visible, with EU leading the way.
The pay this ,pay that, do this , do that,sign this , sign that,sign there,sign here , what ,where , who, when or why ? will still be there.
Go there, come here, fill out this , fill out that, come back late, come back tomorrow, what do you know who do you know – collaptione and bureaucracy (sic)
You pipo are sick what development are you trying to praise?
ABALEYA: YEAH, RIGHT!
At least back in the day Zambians used to buy Buttercup Margarine and Butter in bulk from Zimbabwe for resale. Mugabe gave away all the farms and the people ate all the cows, so I wonder what goods Zambians will get from Zim, maybe from South Africa.
Dear bloggers, check out for yourself the article ” ZAMBIA: From Doom to Boom” that fellow blogger Abaleya has quoted in full from 11 to 19. It is in the Times of Zambia of Saturday 5th December 2009. It is a good piece of literally work which intellectuals (who appreciate looking at both sides of the coin) will find useful. The article is compellingly written and given the credentials of the writer, it cannot be dismissed as just another story in the “state owned media”. Bravo Times for this expert piece, and Abaleya for sharing with us..
#7 Nine Chale, thanks for the clarification. That is my understanding too.
interested in knowing more about OSBP here is the link: http://www.rtfp.org/media/chirundu_one_stop_border_aug_07.pdf
Abaleya,,,,, I have read all what this image builder of RB has said. What I can say is that his analysis has high smake of image building for RB. I would not be surprised to know that the guy is one of the many image builders RB and MMD contracted from UK. His analysis is full of praises which contradicts his assertion that he is an independent researcher.
#31 fibre you’re welcome.
#11 – 19 Abaleya – I rarely read the news pasted here but I must say your contribution is worth reading. I just couldn’t stop reading once I started and I must admit there’s more truth than lies in it. As the author of the article says, it really takes a stand on an ivory tower to watch what Zambia is going through in comparison with other African countries to be able to appreciate… perhaps the best we can do is put our shoulders to the wheel in support of RB. Like Christ proclaimed: “a prophet is not honoured in his own country.”
OSBP is the way to go for the whole of Africa, regional integration and policy harmonisation are tools that we can use to take Africa foward.
@ Abaleya & 9 Chile
The indicators and opinions of outsiders on RB do not tell the full story of the staus of this nation let alone the performance of RB & his government.
What about Zamtel, the fuel shortages, the poor performance of the construction industry… this have a very negative impact on the country.
If all meaningfull constuction jobs are given to Chines, how wil the local Co.s grow, how will they increase capasity. This outsouring is mearly shooting ourselves in the foot. The Ndola Stadium, wonderfull stucture it will be, but what economic benefit does it have? (apart from Lusaka people coming to spend there money in CB for a change). We have to pay that money back, then we give a Chaines Parastatal the contract to build, who hire more Chines than Zambians.
In addition, there is no skills transfer-a zambian contractor was supposed to be subcontracted so that we learn how to build these things ourselves.
Now we externalise almost all the money, non of it remains here then we still have to pay the loan.
Some economics RB did in Sweden! Capital projects are the way to revive an economy coz the Multiplier effect will come in.
And you want to listen to the IMF? are’nt they the ones that told FTJ to sale Zambia Airways, they promised they would see to it that a foreign investor will setup a bigger better air line, we are still waiting.
Dependancy, what this Gov. thrives on will incapasitate us, we will not be able to do anything ourselves. What happend at Min. Of Helth?
Abaleya, thanks for your post. All I can say is wow! We never get to hear some of these things. The guy has had just negative publicity, leaving you wondering as to whether this is the best we can do as a nation.
It takes an altruistic, forward looking and focused leadership to add value to the country than posturing cheap populism.RB who has weathered storms and continues stirring the country to higher heights is a true blessings to Zambia given at a time such as this one.We shudder to imagine had this country been cursed with an irrational thug, filled with useless populism and illiteracy. Thank heavens leadership comes from God and hatred and fantasy.
Zambia-Zimbabwe border post to save $486 mln/yr
Zambia and Zimbabwe’s new one-stop border post will help to facilitate trade between the two countries and save about $486 million a year in logistical costs, a senior official at the agency in charge of the project said.
Trucks using the Chirundu post, about 136 km south of Lusaka, will take two hours to clear the post instead of the two to five days it used to take, Juma Mwapachu, secretary general of the Eastern African Commission, said late on Saturday, when the border post was opened.
The East African Commission, a part of the intergovernmental East African Community, managed the project to build the border crossing.
“The one-stop border post will lead to logistical efficiency and about $486 million will be saved annually in costs that would have been incurred due to prolonged delays at the border,” Mwapachu said.
“The transit time will become more predictable and this will enhance the trade competitiveness for the two countries.”
A World Bank study showed that the major contributor to the high cost of transport was lack of facilitation, such as the improvement of border clearance procedures, Mwapachu said.
Zambian President Rupiah Banda, who was at the opening ceremony for the crossing said the one-stop border post would promote the smooth and efficient flow of goods, resulting in increased inter-regional trade.
“If we facilitate trade and reduce the cost of doing business as well as improve the flow of foreign direct investment, the result will be increased growth and prosperity in our region,” Banda said.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe told the launch ceremony that border post was a practical demonstration of regional integration and asked for investment in the congested border crossing between South and Zimbabwe.
“We are appealing for development and cooperation partners to join us in the development of Beitbridge into a one-stop border post to complement the efficiencies at Chirundu,” Mugabe said.
A report by the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa in November showed service costs were high in sub-Saharan Africa due to poor roads, water and power networks and the region needed to double its infrastructure spending to $93 billion a year to improve it.
# 25 & 26, I concur with you totally. In Africa no matter how much we try to improve things red tape and inefficiency will continue to disrupt everything.
Thank heavens leadership comes from God. Hatred and fantasy against RB has no future in Zambia because its dreams are but for a moment.
Abaleya ‘s copy and paste is public relations.All positive nothing negative about RB
The OSBP is a good development as we shall make gains in reducing transit times and transit costs. We thank God for all good things happening in Zambia. Let’s keep the peace and develop our nation even further.
I would be interested to see the impact of all this on the economy of Chirundu. Certainly, the less time travellers spend in the area, the less they will use services such as hospitality, food etc.
But it’s all good for travellers and cost efficienct for the general economy of Zambia.
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