Senior Chief Nthache of Mwanza says government should consider giving Mwanza District Council a small percentage of revenue collected at Mwanza Border Post for the council to facilitate developmental activities at district level.
The chief made the request at the launch of the World Bank Group funded Coordinated Border Management (CBM) Project at Mwanza Border Post on Friday where Minister of Trade and Industry Simplex Chithyola Banda was the guest of honour.
He said government makes a lot of money through the border but it all goes to account number one.
“Mwanza being a busy district requires good infrastructures but due to inadequate resources it is difficult to have everything needed at one place. This is the reason I am asking government to consider giving our council a certain percentage of the collection for our district to be developed,” Nthache said.
In his remarks, Minister of Trade and Industry, Simplex Chithyola Banda said government is committed to developing all border posts in the country including Mwanza.
“Development is a process which also requires multi- sectoral approach, therefore, it needs some patience. This is why we have started with this CBM pilot project in Mwanza to show government’s commitment,” explained Banda.
The CBM model of operations means that time spent by travelers and business persons to clear their cargo will be reduced to about three hours from one week at the border.
“This is a key milestone in our quest to facilitate trade and to achieve Malawi 2063 vision of being an inclusive, wealthy and self-reliant industrialised upper-middle-income country,” said Banda.
In an interview, a truck driver Chester Kasabola hailed the new model of operation system saying it is helpful in time management.
Reported by Brian Wasili
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