The Trans-Kalahari Corridor Secretariat (TKCS) has announced that it will hold a “Virtual Stakeholder Engagement” this coming Friday in a bid to address the “devastating consequences on the national and regional economies of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
According to the TKCS, the competitive advantage of the region has been seriously compromised, with exports and imports having been seriously affected.
The Secretariat supports its view by quoting from the World Bank’s biannual Pulse Report which states that as a result of the pandemic, economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa will decline from 2.4% in 2019 to between -2.1% and -5.1% in 2020.
It says that haulage has not been spared with some companies winding up and some barely staying afloat.
Friday’s webinar will be addressed by Professor Alwyn Hoffman of the North West University, Merci Ireri who is the chief operations officer at the Kenya Transporters’ Association, Herman Heikens of the Tripartite Transport and Transit and Facilitation Programme at the Southern African Development Community, and Mari Phadi who heads up the Truckers’ Association of South Africa.
They will respectively preside over the following topics: Socio-economic implications of Covid-19 on the trade and transport sector, Kenya’s experience of challenges and mitigation strategies brought on by Covid-19, opportunities and implications on transport and trade in these Covid times, and how women in transport are impacted by Covid-19.
For more information phone +264 61 250 071.
Alternative contact details are as follows:
Leslie M. Mpofu, Executive Director for TKC: director@tkcmc.com
Linda Diergaardt: admin@tkcmc.com
SOURCE: Freight News
https://www.freightnews.co.za/article/covid-19s-cross-border-impact-under-tkcs-spotlight
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