Online Reporter
Freeman Razemba
Senior Reporter
The Government is hosting a consultative meeting on the Trans-Kalahari Corridor, a transport and trade route of significance in the region.
Zimbabwe is keen to be part of the Trans-Kalahari Corridor (TKC), a vital regional trade route, to enhance trade with Namibia and Botswana.
The TKC, which includes a major highway and planned railway, serves as a critical link connecting Namibia’s port of Walvis Bay with Botswana and South Africa, aiming to boost economic development, facilitate trade, and create job opportunities across southern Africa.
Zimbabwe’s participation is seen as a strategic move to leverage this infrastructure, utilise the dry port at Walvis Bay, and strengthen regional integration.
Joining the Corridor will also contribute to an increase and harmonisation of trade between Zimbabwe and Namibia, and the Southern African region as a whole.
It will also contribute to an increase in harmonisation of trade between Zimbabwe and Namibia, and the Southern African region as a whole.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Engineer Joy Makumbe, is leading the Zimbabwe delegation to the meeting, which is being attended by the Trans-Kalahari Corridor Secretariat.
During the meeting, there will be a detailed overview of the Trans-Kalahari Corridor’s mandate, governance structure, and recent achievements; a summary on the legal framework governing the TKC and expectations of the Republic of Zimbabwe; TKCS will present a preliminary analysis of how Zimbabwe’s connectivity could be integrated into the corridor’s network.
This would include a focus on the existing border posts and a facilitated discussion on harmonising customs procedures, implementing an electronic cargo tracking system, and standardising vehicle regulations to ensure seamless cross-border movement between the TKC and Zimbabwe.
The Government is committed to ensuring that the Walvis Bay Dry Port becomes fully operational, as Zimbabwe will join the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor, connecting Namibia, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a bid to boost trade and enhance regional integration.
Zimbabwe and Namibia already share cordial political relations and continue working towards economic prosperity for the mutual benefit of both countries’ peoples.
