admin Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
BEITBRIDGE border post has from Saturday last week been congested following an increase in the number of travellers moving between Zimbabwe and South Africa. At the weekend, long winding queues were seen at the border post as there were delays in the clearing of travellers. When Chronicle visited the border post on Sunday morning, the area was heavily congested with a huge volume of traffic virtually blocking the entire parking space and in the process making it impossible for the smooth movement of both people and vehicles entering the country, a situation that is in contrast to the past few weeks.
Exhausted travellers spent between eight and 10 hours at the border post before being cleared, thereby disrupting time-tables for many buses travelling from South Africa to different parts of the country.
Buses that normally arrive in Bulawayo early in the morning have been arriving in the late afternoon since Saturday.
Officials at the border post attributed the sudden increase in the movement of people to the month-end period, the festive season that is approaching, as well as the early closure of the schools’ third term.
“Most locals usually go to South Africa, especially during month-ends for their shopping, while those who have relatives in South Africa go to the neighbouring country for holidays. With the festive season approaching and the schools having been closed early, we’re not surprised to see a sharp increase in the number of people here,” said an official at the border post.
“We normally get an increase in the number of travellers passing through Beitbridge border post during this period of the year, resulting in pressure on officials on duty and delays in clearing travellers.”
The official also attributed the delays to an acute shortage of staff at the border post, especially during the peak period.
In interviews, travellers expressed concern over the delays, saying responsible authorities should come up with strategies to ease the pressure at the border post.
“Something should be done to ease this congestion. It’s not fair on travellers. I feel as if it’s a crime to travel and I’m being punished for it. I’m travelling by bus and I arrived at the border post at 1AM. Now it’s 10AM and there’s no movement,” said Meluleki Sibanda from Victoria Falls.
“If nothing’s done to ease this congestion, I’m certain that by next week travellers will be spending more that 24 hours at the border post before they’re cleared.”
Another traveller, Shuvai Makuvaza said the situation was unhealthy, considering that the border post had no adequate facilities to cater for huge volumes of people.
“This situation is dangerous to our health. The border post can’t cater for such a huge number of people. The few available toilets are very dirty, forcing people to litter and relieve themselves in unsuitable places,” she said.
Assistant regional immigration officer Francis Mabika said he was not aware of the congestion at the Beitbridge border post. He said he had only received reports that travellers were being delayed at the South African side due to Ebola testing.
“I’m not aware of the congestion at the Beitbridge border post. What I know is that travellers were spending more hours at the South African side because they’ve to be tested for Ebola before they’re allowed entry,” said Mabika.
He said they were, however, anticipating a huge increase in the number of travellers at the border post starting next week, adding that efforts were being made to speed up clearance of travellers.
Mabika warned travellers against seeking assistance from non-immigration officers, saying they risked being swindled of their money by conmen masquerading as immigration officials.
According to Zimra, about 90 percent of travellers are commercial importers and most of those who cross the border are informal traders who cross the border on a daily basis.
Beitbridge border post is the busiest port of entry in sub-Saharan Africa, handling a huge volume of both human and vehicular traffic passing through every day.
Commercial trucks destined for East and Central African countries such as Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia also pass through the border post.
Online Reporter