Cross-border traders get PPE

International Organisation for Migration has donated personal protective equipment (PPE) to cross-border traders in Mchinji.

The donation was channelled through the Ministry of Homeland Security to Mchinji Cross Border Traders Association.

Speaking on Sunday during the handover, the organisation’s Southern Africa regional director Charles Kwenin said the Covid-19 pandemic has affected small-scale traders across the continent.

“We want to ensure that everyone is safe, including those on the move and those facilitating mobility,” he said.

Kwenin said studies show that informal cross-border trade accounts for between 30 and 40 percent of total intra-Southern Africa Development Community trade and it was important for borders to be safe points of convergence.

In his remarks, Ministry of Homeland Security chief human resource management officer Isaac Chiwewe commended the organisation for the hand-washing facilities.

“Most of the informal cross-border traders interact with different people with unknown Covid-19 status,” he said.

The organisation also donated the PPE to Malawi Revenue Authority and Immigration staff members at Mchinji Border Post.

The items included hand sanitisers and water buckets and were funded by UKAid.