BY BANELE MAGONGO
MBABANE – Minister of Home Affairs Princess Lindiwe continues to engage South Africa’s Minister of Home Affairs Dr Aaron Motsoaledi regarding the 24-hour operation of Lavumisa Border Post.
Eswatini and South Africa share the border posts. Lavumisa is on the Eswatini side, while Golela Border Post is on the South African side. Princess Lindiwe is of the view that the 24-hour operation in Lavumisa will have a positive effect on the business environments of Eswatini and South Africa. She said this when World Bank went to find out how both countries worked in terms of border management.
Princess Lindiwe said Eswatini and South Africa did the right thing by approving a 24-hour operation in Ngwenya/Oshoek Border Gate. However, it became a problem for business people because there was no was no balance when business people wanted to access the KwaZulu Natal Province of South Africa. She said they could access the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa without any limits, but the same could not be said about the KZN Province.
It was the Minister’s view that the opening up of the Ngwenya/Oshoek Border Gate has benefited business for both countries. “Now that we are done with the 24-hour operation in Oshoek, we now plead for the 24-hour operation in Lavumisa. Can we make it happen?” pleaded the Minister. She said the situation, as it was right now, was also not good for tourism.
The Minister said tour operators also faced problem because of the fact that Lavumisa was not operating for 24 hours. She said they sometimes had to travel to Mhlumeni Border Gate to connect with Mozambique first, before going to the KZN Province of South Africa. As part of the National Trade Facilitation Committee framework, the World Bank facilitated the site visit to the Oshoek border post. The framework is co-chaired by Business Eswatini’s CEO E. Nathi Dlamini, Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade Siboniso Nkambule, and the Commissioner General of Eswatini Revenue Service Brightwell Nkambule. The main goal of the exercise was to create a single window clearance mechanism that would streamline traffic flow and alleviate congestion at the border. The ultimate goal is to improve efficiency and reduce costs for businesses and individuals who cross the border.
Cover image by R. E. Blue on Flickr
