The Sunday News
Bekezela Tshuma Sunday News Correspondent
THE Mlambapele/Mabolwe Border Post which divides Zimbabwe and Botswana in Gwanda will be opened on 1 June, it has been learnt. Heads of various Government departments from Botswana were in Bulawayo last week for a meeting with their counterparts to deliberate on the final preparations ahead of the opening. Speaking during the meeting, Mr Patrick Mavuma, a senior official with the Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS), who co-chaired the meeting said there was a need for both countries to ensure that the border post is operational according to set deadlines.
“We are here today to update each other on the progress made so far as well as to assess the backlog we both have, if any, before the proposed date of opening the border clocks. As a brief recap, it all started in 2007 with the target date of 1 January 2008 when the two countries, Zimbabwe and Botswana agreed on the need to have a border post opened in the territory of the Babirwa community for the purpose of facilitating the movement of people between the two countries and beyond, as well as to act as a link between a tribe that straddles in the two countries. It is no longer guess work, as to when the border will open its gates to the public, 1 June is the official date for the border to be operational.”
Home Affairs Deputy Minister Obedingwa Mguni, emphasised the need to speed up the project to facilitate movement of people through the border post.
“There is a call from local chiefs in the surrounding areas from both Zimbabwe and Botswana, who detailed how difficult it is for their people to travel long distances for funerals and weddings. We will work as hard as possible to ensure that the border post is open so that there is easy movement to such crucial ceremonies,” he said.
However, he called for all stakeholders to be highly alert as some people would want to use the border post for corrupt activities.
