Zambia, DRC border post set for facelift
Trucks wait for clearance at Kasumbalesa on the Zambia-DRC border. Zambia plans to build a truck park with modern facilities after congestion in the past month posed health risks. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Kasumbalesa border post has been hit by congestion in the past month threatening trade and relations between the two countries.
- Post has no lodging or sanitation facilities and truckers had to relieve themselves in bushes posing a health risk.
- Chililabombwe district authorities plan a truck park to be rolled out in six months under a public private partnership.
The Democratic Republic Congo and Zambia’s Kasumbalesa border post is one typical African border.
Dusty, crowded and suffocating. Do not forget the sweltering heat, but not to the level of the humidity found in the coastal town of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.
A man in his middle 20s is goading a goat for sale, many others balancing cargo on their heads and backs.
They have to find their way amidst trucks and trailers driving at a snail's pace as they approach the clearance yard.
From the Zambia side of the Chililabombwe district, located north of the capital Lusaka, the road to the border post is relatively well tarred until a potholed section gives way to a narrow, bumpy and dusty leg leading to the customs.
Poor maintenance has worn out the tarmac but hawkers, money changers, water vendors and women selling food stuffs and the famous Congo Kitenge (coloured African fabric) earn their sustenance here.
