The Mozambican government has been making efforts to improve the competitiveness of transport corridors through the digitalisation process, said the Minister of Transport and Communications, Mateus Magala, alluding to the latest developments in his sector. He gave as an example the removal of the Temporary Import Permit (TIP) fee, noting that in addition to reducing the cost of freight by US$11.5 per ton, the government has introduced several TIP entries, a process well known to all transporters that frequently cross the border into Mozambique.
“The Economic Acceleration Package (EAP), a set of 20 measures announced by President Filipe Nyusi in August 2022, removes major trade barriers, eliminating a number of taxes and fees and simplifying processes through digitalisation. This is what happened with the steps taken for the Temporary Import Permit (TIP), “explained the Minister of Transport and Communications. Set to be implemented in the coming months, this is expected to increase cross-border efficiency and the number of trips per month for freight trucks.
“In parallel, we are also looking at infrastructure interventions, such as improving border facilities and other constraints along the entire corridor, together with South African government authorities,” the source said.
Speaking to the FreightNews publication, Magala stressed that it is critical to think about digital integration in road transport if our region is to remain competitive and maintain its position as a major player in world trade.
Elaborating on TIP, Magala said the implementation was quite easy for a reason. “It migrated at the end of 2021 to an automated process by integrating the already existing systems of the different stakeholders of the corridor, such as the Port of Maputo and the Single Electronic Window, into a single platform.
“We are currently looking at digitising most of our cross-border processes to facilitate trade with Mozambique. We fully believe in digitalisation and systems integration between Mozambique and neighbouring countries, as an answer to our long-held dream of having a single border post, with less bureaucracy.”
He added that a model was adopted in the Maputo corridor, following the example of the one that moves the largest volumes of cargo, and called for this model to be adopted by all transport corridors to promote regional economies and the development of all countries in the SADC region.”
According to Magala, digitalisation has to go beyond road solutions. “Once again, we recently achieved a milestone by implementing borderless trains between South Africa and Mozambique, with a strong partnership between Transnet Freight Rail and Caminhos-de-Ferro de Moçambique (Mozambique Ports and Railways company).”
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