Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera and his counterpart, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema have expressed optimism that the newly commissioned Mchinji-Mwami One-Stop Boarder Post (OSBP) will enhance trade bilateral relation benefits between Zambia and Malawi.
This was said during the official commissioning of the OSBP in Machinji district on Wednesday.
The Mchinji Mwami One-stop Border Post houses tax collecting and immigration authorities from both countries (Zambia and Malawi).
The newly opened facility is equipped with an automated data-sharing system and is expected to hasten custom clearance and reduce the processing time for all key transactions by 70 percent.
The investment is also expected to improve cross-border trade, enhance the movement of people and boost revenue collection in the two countries.
Addressing the audience during the event, President Chakwera said the border post brings convenience of travellers; reduce cases of smuggling of goods and commodities into and from the country and also streamline processes by consolidating boarder control functions among other things.
The Malawi leader also added that his government is eager and ready to ready from its sister country Zambia on how best the OSBP can be effective and promote the country’s socio-economic growth.
On his part, President Hichilema, said the border post is of vital importance to growing the economy of the two countries.
Hichilema however, added that there is a need to enhance the effectiveness of the border posts by automating them to be non- stop border posts through the use of technology.
Country Manager for African Development Bank (AfDB) (one of the financiers of the project), Raubil Durowoju, said the project seeks to open landlocked countries like Malawi to trade.
He said the bank will continue to provide support in Africa and Southern Africa to develop transport and trade for economic transformation.
In the meantime, plans are underway in the country to construct one-stop border posts in Dedza, Mwanza, Machinga, Mulanje, Mangochi, and Karonga.
The One-Stop Border Post has been constructed with funding from the AfDB, European Union, COMESA, and the World Bank among others.
