Coordinated Border Management (CBM) Model at Mwanza Border to Boost Trade in Malawi

On 23rd June, 2023 the Government of Malawi launched a Coordinated Border Management (CBM) Model for Mwanza Border.

Speaking at the launch, Minister of Trade and Industry, Hon Simplex Chithyola observed that the CBM Model is one of the trade facilitation reforms that the government is implementing aimed at building a better Malawi for citizens, migrants, travellers and businesses.

The Coordinated Border Management (CBM) Model will facilitate seamless trade, achieve greater efficiency at Malawi’s borders that should lead to actualising economic aspirations and trade facilitation commitments that Malawi made at the WTO.

Through the CBM model, the number of agencies present at the border will be reduced from 13 to 6. The few cross-border regulatory agencies will be operating at the borders and execute duties on behalf of their counterparts stationed inland.

Fewer agencies translate into quicker clearance times as most of them handle similar goods and follow similar processes. The major benefit of CBM is quick clearance times resulting in transport savings estimated at MWK 1 billion a month during peak season.

CBM pilot project at Mwanza is also expected to directly benefit Clearing and Forwarding Agents Association of Malawi who have complained of delays to clear cargo owing to different agencies doing their work independently. 

This will result in reduction of cost and time of doing business, quicker clearance/release times, accountability/ transparency and better predictability, as well as higher legal security. All these initiatives will help make Malawi more competitive in international trade.

A successful CBM pilot at the Mwanza border, Malawi’s number one border by revenue contribution and volume of transactions, will see the initiative being rolled out to other borders in the near future.

The CBM project was made possible with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank through the Southern Africa Trade and Connectivity Project (SATCP).