Cyclone Freddy impact haunts Muloza Border

Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) station manager for Muloza Border Post Adjison Maziwire says the effects of Cyclone Freddy negatively affected the operations of the border post.

He said this on Friday at Muloza Border Post in Mulanje District during a media tour on projects being implemented by Southern Africa Trade and Connectivity Project under the Ministry of Transport and Public Works

The project is being funded by the World Bank as part of the Nacala Corridor development.

Maziwire said the cyclone damaged the road infrastructure and this forced businesses to opt for railway line to transport their goods and services.

He said: “Before the cyclone, we [MRA] were handling huge volumes of goods from Mozambique in the form of steel, bread flour, cooking oil, molasses and we were exporting products such as lime, eggs, chickens, plastics and clothes.”

Maziwire said currently, they are clearing 120 trucks and over 350 passenger service vehicles although the facility lacks proper parking space to handle large volumes of cargo.

He said they hope that the construction of the new facility through the project funds will help to facilitate trade between the two countries and enhance regional integration within the Nacala Corridor.

“We need to have a new facility which can handle the volumes of cargo unlike what we have now where trucks park along the M2 waiting for clearance,” said Maziwire.

Roads Authority public relations manager Portia Kajanga said with the project funds, the border was earmarked for rehabilitation and expansion.

She said the station is disaster-prone and the cyclone exposed its vulnerability.

Said Kajanga: “We have not come up with the plan for the new one-stop border post because we are still doing some studies.

“The change in the initial plan will have an implication on the original budget since there was no construction of the road and bridge.”