Online Reporter
Mutare Bureau
THE Government has heightened efforts to ease congestion at the Forbes Border Post in Mutare, which has become the country’s busiest port of entry.
This comes as the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) promised to support the Government “in dealing with the congestion on the Beira corridor”.
A delegation, which was led by Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe, and included his Transport and Infrastructural Development counterpart Minister Felix Mhona and Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution Advocate Misheck Mugadza, made a joint assessment of the situation at the border post on Friday.
Increased vehicular traffic at Forbes has resulted in inconvenient delays for both commercial cargo and travellers.
Minister Kazembe said the visit was meant to establish the root causes of the traffic build-up and craft solutions that will address both immediate pressure and long-term structural gaps.
He said the Government was determined to restore efficiency, reduce delays and strengthen regional trade corridors.
“The main reason we are here is to establish what the challenges are, what the causes of this traffic jam are, with a view of finding solutions. There are short-term, medium-term and long-term solutions. The long-term solutions are known by the President, and the Minister of Transport is already on top of the situation in terms of infrastructure development,” he said.
Minister Kazembe also emphasised the importance of cooperation between Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
“We have met with our counterparts from the Mozambican side. They are equally worried and concerned. As alluded to by our two Heads of State (President Mnangagwa and President Daniel Chapo), we are one people. Zimbabwe is Mozambique, and Mozambique is Zimbabwe. We are working together so that we can deal with these issues.” The inter-ministerial and cross-border engagement, he added, would produce a consolidated action plan that will be subsequently submitted to President Mnangagwa.
“We are very happy with the engagement today, and we hope that by Tuesday, when we meet the President, we will have solid solutions which we believe can ease the congestion,” he said.
In an interview, Minister Mhona said modernisation of the Forbes Border Post was already underway.
“The contractor is already on site. Work has started. Over and above that, we want immediate interventions. We have to improve coordination, change how we are operating and streamline processes,” he said.
The President, he said, had instructed top ministries to move with speed after truck drivers raised concerns over prolonged delays.
“We are on a fact-finding mission to ascertain what is hindering the smooth flow of traffic.
“I want to thank His Excellency, in particular, because he is a listening President. After truck drivers were complaining, he told the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage; the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion; and me to find out what the challenges are,” he said.
“The bigger picture is the rehabilitation of the Forbes Border Post, just to mirror what we have in Beitbridge. The same contractor who worked on Beitbridge is the one working here. We are resolving delays while pushing ahead with a project that will permanently transform this port of entry,” he said.
Separately, Advocate Mugadza said the leadership in Manicaland welcomed the swift response from the Central Government.
“This border is a lifeline for our province and for the nation. The delays have been affecting livelihoods and slowing down commerce. What we are witnessing today is Government acting with urgency and unity,” he said.
He commended the cooperation with Mozambique.
“Our neighbours are here with us, and we are speaking with one voice. This is how real progress is made,” he said.
Minister Mugadza said travellers and businesses should expect improvements as the short-term measures take effect.
“The people of Manicaland will soon see changes. Coordination will improve, processing will speed up and the long-term works will ultimately give us a world-class border,” he said.
Pan-African multilateral financial institution Afreximbank’s president Dr George Elombi said the bank will intervene to resolve congestion at the Forbes Border Post.
“The support we should be providing for that, that is in dealing with the congestion on the Beira corridor, which brings the goods into the country, which is heavily congested now, and we think it is time we intervene to have those matters resolved,” Dr Elombi said after meeting President Mnangagwa at State House on Friday.
Burgeoning trade
Forbes, which connects Zimbabwe with Mozambique’s sea port of Beira, recently eclipsed the Beitbridge Border Post as the busiest port of entry in terms of clearing incoming and outgoing commercial trucks since the beginning of the year.
Initially established as a tourist clearing point, Forbes is not only now serving half of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, but is clearing more than 1 000 commercial trucks every day.
Its newfound status is the result of strategic investment in extended working hours, infrastructure and a concerted effort to streamline border clearance processes.
Statistics from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) indicate that 88 660 outgoing commercial trucks were cleared at the Forbes Border Post in the first six months of the year, compared to 62 964 that were cleared at the Beitbridge Border Post during the same period.
In January, the Forbes Border Post cleared 14 393 outgoing commercial trucks, February (12 172), March (15 586), April (14 368), May (15 973) and June 16 168), while the Beitbridge Border Post cleared 8 627 trucks in January, February (12 248), March (11 057), April (9 412), May (10 172) and June (11 448).
In terms of incoming trucks, the Forbes Border Post cleared a total of 75 471 commercial trucks as at June 30, 2025, while the Beitbridge Border Post cleared 63 085 trucks.
Zimra recently launched the Zimbabwe Electronic Single Window automated system to reduce border delays and congestion.
The Forbes Border Post was identified as the host of the pilot project, which was officially launched in June 2022.
A single window system is a facility that allows parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardised information and documents electronically with a single-entry point to fulfil all import, export and transit regulatory requirements.
Zimbabwe and Mozambique have also opened the Forbes and Machipanda border posts to operate 24 hours to reduce congestion.
Increased economic activity at the border post, particularly since the advent of the Second Republic, has also caused an upsurge in vehicular traffic.
