Namacunde - The border point of Santa Clara, which connects the republics of Angola and Namibia, will be open 24 hours a day from Friday, with a view to facilitating the movement of people and goods from both countries.
The Angolan Ministers of the Interior, Eugénio Laborinho, and the Minister of Internal Affairs, Immigration, Security and Protection of Namibia, Albert Kawana witnessed the opening of the new operating system at the Santa Clara and Oshikango border post.
On the occasion, Eugénio Laborinho said that the opening of the border post was long awaited and represents an important step in facilitating the transition of people and goods along this common perimeter.
According to the minister, this implementation will allow the exponential increase of trade, within the respective legal limits, reinforcing the rapprochement between the two peoples and governments.
'Opening the borders is not simply an exclusive privilege of border communities, but is one of the priorities of Angola's migration policy, encouraged by the President of the Republic, João Gonçalves,' he said.
He recalled that the Head of the Angolan Executive Power recently promulgated a Presidential Decree removing the requirement to present an entry visa to citizens of more than 90 countries.
This achievement, he explained, translates into an unequivocal sign of official commitment to the social and economic development of the country and, consequently, of the Southern Region of Africa, with immeasurable gains for all.
He stressed that the ties of friendship between the two countries go back several decades and the current act results from the commitments made during the 21st session of the Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security Namibia/Angola, which took place in the city of Swakopmund in 2021.
He said that the increase in the migratory movement of this post will provide, not only the increase of tax revenues, but above all allow to stimulate the emergence of great opportunities and expectations of the populations, as businessmen, tourists and ordinary citizens of all origins will have the ease of entering and leaving.
He encouraged the greatest responsibility, dedication and professionalism to the staff working at the post, with particular emphasis on the migration services and the police bodies in their different specialties.
He recalled that this post is a place of passage of smuggled products, human trafficking, evasion of tax obligations, as well as crimes against fauna and flora, so he recommended a lot of vigilance and rigor in action.
Eugénio Laborinho hopes that this act will be representative of several others, to be replicated along the entire land border with Namibia and the other border countries, within the scope of SADC development.
For his part, the Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Security and Protection of Namibia, Albert Kawana, said that the uninterrupted operation of the border aims to boost trade relations between the two countries, in addition to making the migratory flow and the movement of goods more flexible.
Albert Kawans stressed the continuous struggle for the economic emancipation of peoples and, for this reason, in November 2021, the two countries agreed to open the Oshikango/Santa Clara border crossings, on a 24-hour basis.
The minister expressed satisfaction with the achievement of this day, which he considered a dream for the two communities, which will continue to be determined to work to meet the needs of citizens.
He said that after the economic devastation caused by Covid 19, 'it is important to adopt measures that have revitalized economies in order to acquire maximum benefits'.
'We must agree on more opening of crossing points along the border in places such as Oshimuaca, Epupa, Musangara, Buabuata and Sishuwe, to facilitate the movement of the population and goods,' he said.
He clarified that the introduction of this 24-hour regime will bring numerous economic advantages to the business community, which will carry out its business activities more comfortably, because they will have more time to enter and leave.
Albert Kawana stressed that the station with this functional regime will also attract more responsibility to the public and truck drivers who should expect services to be faster, thus strengthening economic ties.
The Santa Clara post registers a daily average of three thousand to two and 600 migratory movements in and out of national and foreign citizens of various nationalities.
The Santa Clara border is considered to be one of the points with the highest volume of trade, especially of food, clothing, animal feed, telecommunications material and equipment for the mining sector.
The province of Cunene shares 460 kilometres of border with the Republic of Namibia, of which 340 are land and 120 are river. PEM/LHE/SC/DOJ
