Complaint

Complaint number
NTB-000-932  
NTB Type
8.1. Government Policy and regulations  
Complaint
Zambia Proposed legislation to restrict foreign registered Road Freight Transport Operators from loading cargo into and out of Zambia violates the provisions of the SADC Protocol, particularly:
1.1 Section 5.1 which calls for the development of a strong and competitive road transport industry which provides effective transport services to consumers. Clearly the introduction of quotas is anti-competitive;
1.2 Section 5.2 calls for equal treatment, non-discriminatory, reciprocity and fair competition. As already pointed out the proposed legislation is discriminatory and anti-competitive;
1.3 Section 6 in which a Zambia/Zimbabwe Joint Route Management Group forum exist but apparently has been ignored by the Zambian authorities who have chosen to introduce the proposed legislation without the courtesy of discussion using the established channels.

The transporters see a backlash from regional countries if this comes to pass and we will soon see cargo staging/transfer points arising at border posts as pressure from regional transport operators mount on their respective Governments to implement similar regulation.  
Status note
On 10 November 2020, Zimbabwe Focal Point reported that this issue is one of proposed legislation which is not in force and still under consultation. Other Countries in the region are implementing similar provisions which in our view should be the ones reported as NTBs. Foreign Transporters are not experiencing any challenges in Zambia with respect to this particular complaint.  
Progress update note
Meeting of NTB-Market Access Task Force 18-20 March 2020 reported that SADC has set up a task force to look into this and other NTBs .  
Policy or regulatory NTB
No 
Location
Zambia: Ministry of Transport (Government institution)  
Reporting Country or Region
Zimbabwe  
Country specific trade issue
No  
Date of incident
2019-12-04  
Status
Resolved  
Date of resolution
2020-11-10  
Product Description
All products

Computer-assisted translation

 
Total value
0  
Date reported
2019-12-04 13:04  
Modified
2020-11-10 08:46  
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