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Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
THERE was a hive of activity yesterday at the Beitbridge Border Post as more travellers, mostly Zimbabweans working in South Africa, started flocking back home for the Christmas holiday.
Border authorities have put mechanisms in place to tackle congestion as they anticipate a surge in the volume of traffic between Thursday and Saturday.
Despite a sharp increase in the number so travellers, this time the efficiency systems have improved following the completion of major sections of the modernised Beitbridge Border Post.
For years, Beitbridge Border Post has been synonymous with congestion during peak periods resulting in travellers spending days in queues waiting to be cleared.
This was largely attributed to poor infrastructure and inadequate human resources to handle increased seasonal traffic.
The border handles about 2 000 commercial trucks, 300 buses, 3 000 light vehicles, 20 000 travellers daily with the numbers tripling up during the holidays. However, this year, travellers using the border post are likely to experience less congestion following the separation of traffic into commercial, bus and light vehicles categories.
The ZimBorders Consortium secured nearly US$300 million for the upgrade and modernisation of Beitbridge Border Post, the country’s busiest port of entry and one of the region’s key transit points.
The consortium is made up of a group of Zimbabweans, South Africans, international entrepreneurs, financial institutions and experts. Construction and development of all works — both in port and out of the port — is scheduled to be completed in 30 months.
The project is being implemented under a public-private partnership involving the Government and private players who are providing funding.
It is being implemented under a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement which will see ZimBorders recouping its funds through border access fees to be collected over 17-and-a-half years, before handing over the property to the Government.
Each category of traffic gets customised services depending on their needs at the three terminals.
Already, most border agencies have been witnessing an improved traffic flow system since the opening of all the terminals.
The regional immigration officer in charge of Beitbridge Mr Joshua Chibundu said although the volume of traffic was high, they could not feel the effect because of the improved traffic flow systems.
He said the separation of traffic and automation of services had helped reduce the unnecessary human interface that was previously linked to chaotic movement at the port of entry.
“We are in control and have deployed adequately. You will note that we have processed a total of 262 114 travellers between December 1 and December 18 and among these were 114 927 arrivals and 147 187 exits,” said Mr Chibundu.
He said since the start of the festive season they are handling an average of 14 500 people daily
“The separation of the border into three terminals has helped us in terms of efficiency and smooth clearance of travellers. As immigration, we haven’t experienced long queues,” said Mr Chibundu.
He said they have deployed enough manpower to clear travellers at all three terminals including at the entry and exit gates.
ZimBorders Consortium chief executive officer Mr Francois Diedrechsen said they are clearing a daily average of 1 500 light vehicles, 200 buses and 900 commercial trucks at the three terminals.
He said they are working with other border agencies to ensure a flawless flow of traffic throughout the festive season until January next year.
“The movement of traffic at the border post is working well as planned and we have enough people on the ground to deal with the increased seasonal traffic. At the same time, we want to urge travellers to abide by the relevant processes and to have their required documents ready and correct,” said Mr Diedrechsen
Beitbridge town clerk, Mr Loud Ramakgapola said they have also deployed compliance teams at Dulivhadzimu Bus Terminus and major highways to control the flow of traffic and related activities that come with increased holiday travel.
A customs clearing agent, Mr Petro Hindi said the movement of cargo and people had greatly improved at Beitbridge compared to the last five years.
“We are pushing a lot of cargo through the border and it is pleasing to note that the movement is well co-ordinated and no one is spending several hours,” he said.
Miss Rutendo Zhou from Mberengwa said she is impressed with the new outlook and improved service delivery.
“This is my first time to use this border in five years. I have been avoiding it due to congestion, but this time the service is excellent and the co-ordination among the border agencies is quite impressive,” she said.
Online Reporter