SADC flags Namibia’s ‘broken borders’
The lack of integration between agencies responsible for safeguarding the country’s entry and exit points is crippling Namibia’s border operations.
This was revealed by Sydney Chibbabbuka at a meeting held in Windhoek last week under the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) trade facilitation programme framework to validate the country’s draft coordinated border management (CBM) strategy.
This comes after Namibia reached out to the SADC secretariat for technical and financial support to develop a CBM national strategy.
Government has long been urged to embrace advancements in both its strategy and technology to secure the borders in order to prevent smuggling of illegal goods as well as control the movement of people.
Some of the factors plaguing effective border controls include the absence of a border management policy, limited border infrastructure and operational equipment, low levels of automation, multiple border agencies, low staffing levels and unequitable allocation of resources.
Fragmented
In his presentation, Chibbabbuka said apart from piloting a cooperation framework - through the port control unit at the port of Walvis Bay - at all other border posts in the country, border agencies still operate as individual, uncoordinated agencies.
“Most border agencies execute fragmented and stand-alone processes that border users find cumbersome and costly. There are no common standard performance parameters for border agencies to help stakeholders to hold the agencies accountable,” he said.
He also pointed out that there are variations among border agencies in terms of resources available for their operations. This includes staffing levels, operational tools and equipment as well as infrastructure.
There are also different conditions of service for border agencies, he noted.
“Although government, the Namibia Trade Facilitation Committee and border agencies have organised some capacity-building activities on CBM, operationalising the concept has been challenging due to various factors that include limited resources, lack of a guiding policy framework and strategy, and limited technical capacity, among others,” he said.
It was further found that some border agencies have written standard operating manuals or similar internal instructions that describe the work-flow processes, while others execute their functions on the basis of governing legislation and regulations through prescribed forms.
“For border agencies that have procedure manuals, not all staff have copies of the manuals. Border procedure manuals are not harmonised with manuals of sister agencies in the neighbouring states,” Chibbabbuka said.
Vulnerable to fraud
Traders – who have for long complained about bureaucracy and corruption at border points – have also been vindicated.
“Traders, transporters and travellers do not have ready access to information on border procedures, their rights and obligations and formalities for lodging complaints. The situation makes border users vulnerable to fraud. Like in most other countries in the region, corruption is one of the main challenges at border crossings in Namibia,” he said.
The absence of common procedure manuals as well as a universal electronic platform for border agencies has also been raised as a concern.
With regards to technological infrastructure, Chibbabbuka said some border agencies are still using manual systems, while for agencies with automated operations, the systems are not interconnected for purposes of data exchange.
The secretariat also found that there are no clear procedures for handling emergency situations, particularly at land borders, apart from the recent protocols that were developed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Equipment shortage
Meanwhile, it was found that there are inadequate border facilities to efficiently handle the increasing volumes of traffic, particularly at busy border crossings.
“For instance, the space in the cargo inspection sheds is inadequate in comparison to the number of freight vehicles that pass through the borders. Some furniture requires to be repaired or replaced. Most border posts do not have the necessary numbers of baggage or cargo scanners at land borders,” Chibbabbuka revealed.
According to him, there are inadequate and, in some cases, no loading and unloading tools and facilities.
Housing challenges also persist at some of the country’s border points, where the accommodation for institutional staff is insufficient when compared to the number of staff. This is said to be common at border crossings located in remote areas.
SADC recommended that Namibia develop a national policy on border cooperation as well mobilise financial resources to support the budget for operationalising CBM.
Efforts to get comment on the matter from home affairs and immigration executive director Ettiene Maritz proved futile.
This was revealed by Sydney Chibbabbuka at a meeting held in Windhoek last week under the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) trade facilitation programme framework to validate the country’s draft coordinated border management (CBM) strategy.
This comes after Namibia reached out to the SADC secretariat for technical and financial support to develop a CBM national strategy.
Government has long been urged to embrace advancements in both its strategy and technology to secure the borders in order to prevent smuggling of illegal goods as well as control the movement of people.
Some of the factors plaguing effective border controls include the absence of a border management policy, limited border infrastructure and operational equipment, low levels of automation, multiple border agencies, low staffing levels and unequitable allocation of resources.
Fragmented
In his presentation, Chibbabbuka said apart from piloting a cooperation framework - through the port control unit at the port of Walvis Bay - at all other border posts in the country, border agencies still operate as individual, uncoordinated agencies.
“Most border agencies execute fragmented and stand-alone processes that border users find cumbersome and costly. There are no common standard performance parameters for border agencies to help stakeholders to hold the agencies accountable,” he said.
He also pointed out that there are variations among border agencies in terms of resources available for their operations. This includes staffing levels, operational tools and equipment as well as infrastructure.
There are also different conditions of service for border agencies, he noted.
“Although government, the Namibia Trade Facilitation Committee and border agencies have organised some capacity-building activities on CBM, operationalising the concept has been challenging due to various factors that include limited resources, lack of a guiding policy framework and strategy, and limited technical capacity, among others,” he said.
It was further found that some border agencies have written standard operating manuals or similar internal instructions that describe the work-flow processes, while others execute their functions on the basis of governing legislation and regulations through prescribed forms.
“For border agencies that have procedure manuals, not all staff have copies of the manuals. Border procedure manuals are not harmonised with manuals of sister agencies in the neighbouring states,” Chibbabbuka said.
Vulnerable to fraud
Traders – who have for long complained about bureaucracy and corruption at border points – have also been vindicated.
“Traders, transporters and travellers do not have ready access to information on border procedures, their rights and obligations and formalities for lodging complaints. The situation makes border users vulnerable to fraud. Like in most other countries in the region, corruption is one of the main challenges at border crossings in Namibia,” he said.
The absence of common procedure manuals as well as a universal electronic platform for border agencies has also been raised as a concern.
With regards to technological infrastructure, Chibbabbuka said some border agencies are still using manual systems, while for agencies with automated operations, the systems are not interconnected for purposes of data exchange.
The secretariat also found that there are no clear procedures for handling emergency situations, particularly at land borders, apart from the recent protocols that were developed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Equipment shortage
Meanwhile, it was found that there are inadequate border facilities to efficiently handle the increasing volumes of traffic, particularly at busy border crossings.
“For instance, the space in the cargo inspection sheds is inadequate in comparison to the number of freight vehicles that pass through the borders. Some furniture requires to be repaired or replaced. Most border posts do not have the necessary numbers of baggage or cargo scanners at land borders,” Chibbabbuka revealed.
According to him, there are inadequate and, in some cases, no loading and unloading tools and facilities.
Housing challenges also persist at some of the country’s border points, where the accommodation for institutional staff is insufficient when compared to the number of staff. This is said to be common at border crossings located in remote areas.
SADC recommended that Namibia develop a national policy on border cooperation as well mobilise financial resources to support the budget for operationalising CBM.
Efforts to get comment on the matter from home affairs and immigration executive director Ettiene Maritz proved futile.
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