Kasumbalesa border post will operate 24/7 to comply with SADC standards and fight against customs fraud
The government has taken the option of operating the Kasumbalesa border post, between the DRC and Zambia, 24 hours a day to comply with SADC or SADEC standards (Development Community of Southern African States) but also to fight against customs fraud which took advantage of this gap on the Congolese side. This is what emerges from the 46th meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Friday August 28 by videoconference under the leadership of the President of the Republic, Félix Tshisekedi.
“On the occasion of the mission carried out in Lubumbashi by the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, Security and Customary Affairs, within the framework of the work of the Zambia-DRC Joint Commission, the Zambian side raised the problem of working hours at DRC customs offices at Kasumbalesa border post. It was reported on this occasion that the DRC customs services operate between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., while SADC standards recommend 24-hour opening.
Everything also seems to indicate that the rules which apply to COMESA in matters of international trade do not accommodate the modalities of operation of the Congolese customs services. This situation, which causes huge delays in the customs clearance of goods imported via Zambia, pushes truckers to unload their cargoes in Zambia, from where they pass by fraud into Congolese territory. This favors the “Bilanga” phenomenon, namely customs fraud operated by unemployed young people, mostly from the provinces of Kasai and Grand Katanga, and who take the place of the State services ”, reports the report of the Council of ministers made by the government spokesman, Jolino Makelele.
During this government meeting, the Minister of the Interior announced the resolutions adopted, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, in relation to the report made on this situation at the Kasumbalesa border post.
Among these resolutions that the Council of Ministers has moreover approved, there are: – the restoration of order and the authority of the State in order to allow the regular functioning of the State services at the border; – the search for a global solution, also integrating alternative solutions to the employment of the unemployed young people concerned; – the withdrawal of the services which operate at the border in violation of Decree n ° 036/2002 of March 28, 2002 appointing the services and public bodies authorized to operate at the borders of the DRC, namely: DGDA, OCC, DGM and the Public Hygiene Service; – the establishment of a 24-hour working schedule at the Kasumbalesa border, thus harmonizing with what is happening on the Zambian side; – the closure of all the so-called “Bilanga” crossing points and stopping of transhipments on Zambian territory of goods bound for the DRC.
Kasumbalesa’s “Bilanga base” was dismantled this week by elements of the armed forces. This practice of customs fraud has existed for years causing the country to lose billions of dollars in revenue to the benefit of individuals. However, the practice remains in several other border posts across the DRC.
