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However, border officials said they expect a sharp increase in arrivals a few days before Christmas.
When Chronicle visited the border post yesterday morning there were long winding queues of travellers awaiting both customs and immigration clearance.
South African cars, mostly Gauteng registered, were a common sight at the arrivals’ section.
Immigration guards with the help of police officers could also be seen controlling the queues on the entry side.
On the departure side, immigration officials were also equally busy especially in the early morning hours as scores of people mostly cross-border traders and shoppers were travelling to South Africa.
An immigration officer, who, however, declined to be named said the volume of both human and vehicular traffic had increased on the entry side.
“We are witnessing an increase in the volume of traffic and the number of people passing through the Beitbridge Border Post, particularly on the entry side. Most of these people are Zimbabweans working in South Africa coming back home for Christmas,” said the immigration officer.
Between Monday and Wednesday, immigration officials handled 73 825 travellers on both entry and exit side.
Travellers who spoke to Chronicle yesterday said the queues were moving faster at the Zimbabwean border unlike on the South African side where queues of cars awaiting clearance reportedly stretched for more than 2km.
“Immigration officers in Zimbabwe are faster in clearing travellers unlike on the South African side where we spent several hours in the queue. We are, however, subjected to delays at the Zimra search bay,” said Mrs Monalisa Ndlovu of Bulawayo.
Another injiva, Mr Jabulani Sithole, echoed Mrs Ndlovu’s sentiments: “The service that we are getting from Zimbabwe immigration officers has tremendously improved over the years unlike in the past when we would spend several hours at the border resulting in some travellers approaching bogus clearing agents for assistance.”
On the South African side, immigration and customs officers have also opened more desks at the South African Revenue Services commercial hall.
An SA Home Affairs official said they have since received additional staff from their regional office in Thohoyandou to complement the local staff in clearing travellers at the border during the festive period.
Beitbridge is reportedly the busiest inland port of entry in sub-Saharan Africa, which handles a huge volume of traffic mostly commercial vehicles including those destined for neighbouring countries such as Zambia, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo passing through daily.
On average the border handles about 8 000 travellers daily with the figures increasing to 20 000 during the peak period such as the festive season.
As a decongestion strategy, the Department of Immigration has also created additional counters in which travellers can also utilise the cubicles situated outside the immigration hall.
The assistant regional immigration manager, Mr Charles Gwede, said they have since suspended leave and off-days for staff, a move aimed at speeding up the clearance of travellers during the festive period.
“As part of our decongestion drive we have increased officers per shift to effectively manage the queue and speed up the clearance process.
“We also got additional personnel from other less busy stations to beef up our staff so that we are able to deal with the influx of travellers and ensure that all our check points and counters are adequately manned,” he said.
Mr Gwede said they expected the number of travellers to increase between today and 24 December as most South African companies that Zimbabweans work for have since shut down for Christmas.
“We anticipate that there would be a huge influx of travellers passing through the border post between tomorrow and Christmas Eve largely because in South Africa it is a long weekend and most firms have since closed for the holiday,” he said.
“We are aware that as we approach the festive season, we normally get an increased volume of travellers coming from or heading to South Africa including other nationals such as Zambians and Malawians using Beitbridge Border Post, resulting in pressure on our personnel.
“We have put out various strategies to ensure that we speed up the clearance of travellers,” he said.
Mr Gwede also warned travellers against seeking assistance from bogus clearing agents and touts operating at the border post where they swindle unsuspecting travellers of their money under the guise of offering assistance.
Online Reporter