The resolution of the Kariba bridge NTB is not an isolated event. Nearly three quarters (74.6%) of all NTBs that have been logged in the last four years through Tripartite’s online NTB reporting and monitoring tool have been resolved, says Vonesai Hove from TradeMark Southern Africa (TMSA). The tool supports regional efforts to report and monitor NTBs that contribute to the high cost of trade and transport in Africa. While the system itself does not solve NTBs it streamlines the process of identifying and processing complaints submitted by stakeholders, allowing for the systematic and transparent management of reported NTBs. This contributes to their successful resolution through improvements in policy measures and border processes in the countries concerned.
The NTB reporting and monitoring tool has enjoyed wide-spread use throughout the Tripartite region. “The system is responsive to the needs of traders and transporters and provides accurate tracking of each NTB, from logging to resolution,” confirms Hove. “To date, 74.6% of all reported NTBs from several COMESA, EAC and SADC countries have successfully been tackled through the system. There are continuing efforts to increase this figure,” says Hove. Some other examples of the NTBs that have successfully been resolved since being reported online include the acceptance of certificates of origin for sugar produced in the region so that it can be traded in the region duty-free and the removal of certain arbitrary transit fees and charges on road networks in the region. The remaining NTBs are mainly policy related and require intensive and ongoing bilateral efforts to completely eradicate them. The Tripartite recently launched a complementary short messaging service (SMS) reporting tool to make it easier than ever to report NTBs.“Truck drivers and other traders may not have access to the established web-based reporting system when they encounter a problem at an entry or exit point along their transit route,” Hove explains. “This new tool is a way to capture even more NTBs so countries can solve more problems.”
“The Tripartite NTB system, and especially the new SMS line, is a practical way for anyone on the ground, including the private sector, to become involved in resolving NTBs,” confirmed Mr. Joseph Musariri, president The Federation of Clearing and Freight Forwarders Associations of Southern Africa (FCFASA) Hove confirms that the SMS-reporting tool has had a strong uptake and should lead to an increase of resolved NTBs in the transport sector in particular. The mapping of NTBs on the Tripartite GIS is another new development. For more information or to report an NTB, visit www.tradebarriers.org Read the full story, with photographs, online at the TMSA website.
