Dedza One Stop Border Post to delay operations
Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) Commissioner General John Biziwick says Dedza One-Stop Border Post will delay its operations because Mozambique is yet to complete its facility on the other side.
He said this yesterday when the Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Trade and Tourism toured the facility in Dedza District.
Biziwick said the World Bank financed the Malawi project earlier than they financed Mozambique.
He said: “The situation is similar to what happened at Songwe Border Post in Karonga where Tanzania got funding from the World Bank in the first phase and we got the funding in the second phase while Mozambique has received the funding in the third phase.
“In this regard our Tanzanian counterparts started their project before we did.”
However, Biziwick said as soon as the World Bank hands over the facility to the Malawi Government, MRA will use its offices while waiting to roll out the full services after Mozambique completes the structure.
Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Trade and Tourism chairperson Simplex Chithyola Banda said traders in the country have been spending too much time on the borders because they stop on both sides of the countries for paperwork which will now be done under one roof by agencies from both countries.
He said: “The operationalisation of the one-stop border post facility has been waiting for the law to legalise the working of foreigners in the facilities.
“Parliament has already passed that bill into law.”
He also said that another area that requires attention is connectivity since good internet connection will facilitate the swift transfer of documents from one terminal to another.
Dedza is the second border where Malawi has completed its side of the one-stop border-post project after Mwami in Mchinji.
