KATIMA MULILO – Namibian and Zambian defence forces yesterday commenced a bush-clearing operation along the busy borderline as a way of combating increasing border crimes.
Namibian Defence Force (NDF) Chief of Staff for Joint Operations, Major General Josua Namindo, said the two nations share excellent bilateral relations dating back to pre-independence days when Zambia played a pivotal role in Namibia’s liberation struggle.
To this day, the two sister countries continue collaborating in numerous areas, including in defence and security matters.
Namindo stressed that communities living along the common border, particularly in the Zambezi region, specifically Katima Mulilo district-Singalamwe in Namibia, and Wenela and Imusho in Zambia, continue facing challenges, including crime-related ones. These challenges include border jumping, illegal fishing and timber harvesting, smuggling of goods, and cattle rustling.
Chief of NDF Air Marshal Martin Pinehas and Commander of Zambia Air Force Lieutenant General Oscar Nyondo jointly launched the operation over the weekend.
Recognising the border challenges, the 24th Session of the Zambia/Namibia Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security (JPCDS), held in Livingstone, Zambia, from 16 to 21 April 2023, noted little progress in implementing the African Union (AU) Declaration on Border Management Programme for both countries.
To address this, a Joint Working Plan was adopted by the Namibian and Zambian Joint Technical Committee on Border Management during a meeting held from 6 to 8 September 2023 in Katima Mulilo. The bush-clearance and reaffirmation process will be conducted in five phases: mobilisation of resources by both countries, joint reaffirmation exercise, clearing of unexploded ordnances and de-bushing, static observation and generation of final coordinates for boundary pillars, and preparation and production of boundary
maps.
The joint meeting resolved that the border clearance, de-bushing and reaffirmation exercise should begin with the joint physical identification of beacons from the first beacon to the ninth, followed by the clearance of a 30m distance on both sides around the beacons, along the borderline from Katima Mulilo-Wenela to Singalamwe/Imusho.
Both armies reaffirmed that the joint operation would address challenges affecting communities living along the common border, enhance the spirit of good neighbourliness, peaceful co-existence, and further strengthen the excellent bilateral relations that date back to pre-independence days.
Other activities to run concurrently with the operation include the computation and erection of static observation of the pillars and the preparation of boundary maps, which will be undertaken by responsible institutions from both countries.
The operation is expected to be completed by February 2025, though both defence forces noted the duration might be extended, depending on the situation on the ground. “The two sister-countries will continuously oversee the operation. During the conduct of operations, other routine activities such as coordinated patrols will continue as scheduled,” Namindo said.
Both defence forces thanked the two governments for entrusting security clusters with maintaining peace and security for communities living along the common border, allowing them to enjoy harmonious relations in a peaceful and stable environment. -anakale@nepc.com.na