Mbanza Kongo - The deputy governor of Zaire, Afonso Nsolameso, on Friday defended the need to synchronize the customs fees charged at the border between the province of Zaire (Angola) and the region of Central Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Speaking at the opening of the 9th joint ordinary meeting between the border authorities of Zaire and the DRC taking place in Mbanza Kongo, the deputy governor requested the participants to draw up and approve a document defining an agreed amount of taxes to be charged to trucks travelling along the common border.
"It is said that the Congolese authorities charge around three thousand dollars for each truck of ours that enters Congolese territory, compared to 50 dollars that Angola charges per DRC truck that enters our national territory," said the official, for whom this abysmal difference in taxes between neighboring countries creates discomfort in trade relations.
Afonso Nsolameso said the meeting is part of the implementation of the joint action plan between Angola and the DRC to strengthen measures to prevent and combat cross-border fraud.
The 9th ordinary joint meeting, the official said, shows a clear sign that the two countries are committed to good management of their respective borders, as well as to finding better measures to prevent and combat fraudulent actions that take place on the border perimeter between the two neighboring nations.
According to the official, the historical, cultural and consanguineous ties that have united Angola and the DRC since ancestral times mean that better conditions for political, commercial, technical and operational cooperation are increasingly needed.
"For this reason, we are certain that this meeting, like the previous ones, will produce relevant and effective measures for dealing with and managing the problems that occur on our common border, with emphasis on the smuggling of goods and illegal immigration," the official said.
The meeting was co-chaired by the director of the 1st region of the General Tax Administration (AGT), Ricardo Pais de Aguiar, and the provincial customs director of the Central Congo region (DRC), Alain Tenday Lupumba.
During the meeting, the participants assessed the degree of fulfillment of the recommendations of the previous meeting held in October 2023 in Matadi city (DRC), as well as listening to the concerns of the two delegations.
Zaire province shares 310 kilometers of border with the DRC. JL/TED/AMP
