Kasumbalesa: ‘business’ as usual for clogged-up crossing

21 Jun 2022 – by Eugene Goddard  3-4 minutes     

Cross-border  cargo carriers heading into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)  were this morning backing up some 60 kilometres south of the  conventional crossing of Kasumbalesa after road works in Zambia put paid  to using an alternative border post.

The border south of Sakania further east of Kasumbalesa had  successfully managed to alleviate some congestion experienced at the  perennially blocked-up border.

But long-overdue upgrading of the road from Ndola to the Sakania  border meant that Zambian traffic officials had started diverting  traffic away from the border since late last week.

“The border is not closed,” one long-distance haulier said. “We just can’t get there.”

Unsurprisingly, the north-bound queue to Kasumbalesa is now back to  where it was in recent times, somewhere south of Chingola, about 44  kilometres from the border.

This morning, a trucker working for a bulk liquid haulier based in  South Africa, said he was about 16 kilometres from Chingola, or about 60  kilometres from the border.

With snail-pace processing being what it is at Kasumbalesa, the  driver could sit for days in his cabin, waiting to get through one of  the most chaotic customs choke points in Africa.

The transporter in question said industry appreciated that traffic  heading toward Sakania was being rerouted without Zambia charging any  related fees.

However, he reiterated once again what so many long-distance hauliers  using Kasumbalesa have said: that operators complying with pre-cleared  cargo documentation should not have to sit in the queue.

Essentially, it is felt that transporters adhering to measures that  could possibly increase flow through the border should have the benefit  of streamlined customs processing – a point underscored by a high-level  bilateral meeting on June 10.

If there were two key points that were highlighted at the  public-sector meeting in Chingola attended by government ministers and  customs executives from Zambia and the DRC, it was the following:

• That Kasumbalesa and other crossings along the Copperbelt mining area should be turned into 24-hour borders.
• That transporters with pre-cleared docs be given right of way.

Implementing these measures, though, are easier said than done.  Turning the Kasumbalesa border into a round-the-clock transit is a  complex issue for the DRC, especially because its customs staff live in  Lubumbashi, almost 100 kilometres to the north-east.

Implementing some sort of a pre-cleared doc checking system is  decidedly much less complex, and it has become the source of speculation  why this hasn’t been done yet.

Said the transporter from South Africa: “It’s because there is money  to be made by forcing truckers to park and wait at Kasumbalesa.”

It’s not the first time frustrated operators hauling cargo in and out  of the Copperbelt have accused authorities for profiteering from poorly  run borders.

Clearly, if Zambia and the DRC want to change the perception that  they’re guilty of racketeering, they will have to enforce what was  unanimously agreed to at Chingola – that they were there to facilitate  trade.

“For the time being, though, it’s back to ‘business’ as usual,” said  one transporter, “making us pay to use a border that’s been a mess for  months.”

Source: https://www.freightnews.co.za/article/kasumbalesa-business-usual-clogged-crossing