The Minister of Transport and Logistics, João Matlombe, held talks on the morning of Saturday, 13 December, with the South African Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy. The working visit aimed to understand the operation of K4 on the Mozambican side and K7 on the South African side. Matlombe clarified that the joint work with South African authorities, ongoing for years, focuses on improving the operation of the N4 corridor—the Maputo corridor—especially at this time of year, when there is significant pressure due to the return of Mozambicans working in South Africa.
“They add to the pressure we have already been experiencing regarding the functioning of the entire logistical flow along our corridor. What we did today was detailed work, analysing from the starting point at kilometre 7 on the South African side, evaluating the operation, performance and seeking to understand what issues can be improved on the South African side,” he said. While the ministers sought to understand which issues could be improved, the conclusion reached was that customs processes and procedures must be enhanced in both countries.
“Our colleagues from the tax and customs authorities on our side are fortunately doing excellent work, aiming to improve service and flow. On the South African side, there is great pressure, so we showed that teamwork is needed to achieve improvements in both systems,” the minister said. As Minister Matlombe explained, it would be pointless if systems improved on the Mozambican side but not on the South African side.
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For this reason, there was a commitment from both parties to work together to improve and, above all, to avoid duplication of processes. Therefore, “everything done on our side should not have to be done again on the South African side. This will help ease the situation.” During the visit, Matlombe also drew attention to the teams, pointing out that it makes little sense for the migration border post to have space for 10 to 15 attendants, yet only two or three are working.
“The same applies to the customs booths, which are also points that create, to some extent, some congestion affecting traffic flow. These measures are important for efforts related to road safety.” Given the current pressure, it is important to reduce driver fatigue to prevent road accidents along national highways. “We have taken measures and will continue monitoring.
The teams are already working,” he pointed out. As a result, from this week it will be possible to have a logistics overview from kilometre 7 to Maputo, allowing timely decisions regarding delays or bottlenecks and enabling immediate interventions on both the South African and Mozambican sides. “We are starting to integrate the systems right now,” said Minister Matlombe.
He recalled that on the Mozambican side, practically the entire corridor is digitalised, allowing traffic flow control from the border to the Port of Maputo. However, there is no visibility on the South African side. “Only with this information and integration of the South African system will we be able to make informed decisions.”
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