Zim yearns for one-stop border, rail project

Source: Mmegi Online
Author: Keto Segwai

MAUN: Zimbabwe is seeking urgent establishment of a One-Stop-Border Post at the Plumtree/Ramokgwebana border post and the conclusion of the Ponta Techobanine Railway Line Project.

This came out here on Tuesday at the on-going fourth session of the Botswana-Zimbabwe Bi-National Commission (BNC). Senior government officials, ministers and the business community, are attending the meeting. The two countries' ministers from various sectors were to meet yesterday (Thursday) while on the sidelines, the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) and ZIMTrade will be hosting a business forum. President Mokgweetsi Masisi and his Zimbabwean counterpart, Emmerson Mnangagwa, will join the Maun meeting on Friday.

The broad nature of the BNC cooperation covers defence and security, immigration, environment and tourism, transport and infrastructure, labour and employment, energy and water security, trade and investment, health and others. In a preparatory meeting of the line ministries' permanent secretaries and other senior officials, Zimbabwe's acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Rofina Chikava on Tuesday appealed to her colleagues. "I know this has been said many times before... but to just reiterate the urgency of the establishing a One-Stop-Border Post at the Plumtree/Ramokgwebana border post and the conclusion of the Ponta Techobanine Railway Line Project." She described the projects as having, "high level public interest as they are designed to achieve some important development and social objectives. Central to all of them is the noble idea of advancing border efficiency, ensuring free movement of people and trade facilitation. I am aware that all of these issues are work in progress, but I am glad that we have already taken some of the most significant steps forward to realise these objective."