By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
There’s been chaos at the Beitbridge border post, with upgrades and toll fee collection in Zimbabwe, leading to backlogs of up to ten days.
Queues of vehicles as long as 10 kilometers have formed at the crossing from South Africa after Zimbabwe updated its clearance requirements. A new freight terminal opened at the border on October 11 to expedite traffic ferrying cargo to and from nations including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi.
“The congestion is a combination of various factors, which include non-compliance of clearance documents,” Information Secretary Nick Mangwana wrote Friday in the state-owned Herald newspaper.
The fears remained that truck drivers would soon run out of food and water, and that those carrying hazardous cargo would either fall victim to crime, or risk damaging their goods.
But this morning the queue had reduced drastically.
The South African Human Rights Commission will be conducting an inspection at the border post on Saturday.
Zimbabwe also formed a crisis team to clear traffic at Beitbridge, one of Africa’s busiest border posts, which is undergoing a R4.4 billion revamp.
Although delays were anticipated, some other factors Department of Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said truck drivers were not aware of have been sprung on them.
The Zimbabwean side of the border is now charging drivers US$200 per small truck, and US$340 for abnormal trucks.
These payments had to be made in cash, despite attempted negotiations with Zimbabwean authorities to allow drivers to pay electronically, Motsoaledi said.
He said this surprise fee forced drivers to park their trucks and search for ATMs or foreign exchange agencies to get the money.
In addition to voicing his frustrations with the situation, he said the situation at the Beitbridge border post “made a mockery” of the recent Free Trade Agreement signed by the African Union.
He said Beitbridge was key to that agreement, with it being “a gateway of trade between South Africa and the rest of the continent.”