PhD: Coordinated border management in Southern Africa

South Africa - 21 November 2017

SADC is currently the most expensive region to trade from/within Africa. This problem is symptomatic of a general African malaise, namely a lack of competitiveness. Slow borders keep the African market fragmented and the movement of goods across the continent is slow and costly by global standards. Africa urgently needs to achieve greater competitiveness by adopting regional integration strategies that support regional value chains. Of paramount importance is the improvement of border processes to streamline the flow of goods between countries.

A key question in the study is: to what extent is time a trade barrier in SADC trade and what role should the Coordinated Border Management (CBM) – touted as a trade facilitation instrument ‒ play in Southern Africa? Local border processes will be investigated to understand if CBM can be applied successfully in the region and how SADC countries can combine their efforts and resources to make border posts more efficient. To conclude the study, the regulatory regime will be explored in the light of the South African Customs Control Act (31 of 2014) and the work of the WTO, WCO and various SADC instruments to observe its influence on trade flows in the region.

2016‒2017 progress:
The study consists of three articles: In Article 1, data has been finalised and is ready for GTAP analysis. A general discussion, recommendations and conclusion will follow. In Article 2, the second version of the literature review is almost complete. In addition, data is being collected for simulation while a flow diagram is being prepared of activities at the Lebombo-Ressamo border post between South Africa and Mozambique. Article 3 is still in the planning stages and supporting literature is currently being sourced.

Author