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Thupeyo Muleya
Beitbridge Bureau
Congestion of vehicles and travellers visiting South Africa and Zimbabwe is building up at Beitbridge Border Post, with the curfews on both sides adding to the normal seasonal year-end pressure.
Though the travellers are being cleared under safe and strict Covid-19 management protocols, the full implementation of the 10pm to 4am curfew has resulted in traffic piling up on both sides of the border, and on Friday the South Africans added more pressure when stopped clearing light vehicles, pedestrians and buses after 10pm. They are only clearing commercial cargo at night.
Said a border official: “There is a need for Zimbabwe and South Africa to seriously consider the issue of curfews at the land borders. As it stands, the South Africans are not clearing any traffic besides commercial cargo after 10pm.
“This has created problems for border officials considering that the border is usually hectic during peak periods, even where it operates for 24 hours a day.”
The source said between 4am and 10pm they will be clearing all types of traffic, both south and northbound traffic, albeit in batches.
It is understood that after 8pm, the South Africans are closing their border to private vehicles, pedestrians and buses.
Online Reporter