Plans afoot to ease traffic congestion during Easter

Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau

BORDER authorities in Zimbabwe and South Africa have started rolling out a harmonised plan to tackle congestion and minimise delays at the Beitbridge Border Post in anticipation of an increase in the volume of traffic during the Easter Holiday.

On the Zimbabwe side of the border, three terminals have been opened and categorised into freight, buses, light vehicles, and pedestrian traffic sections.

The border has also been automated to minimise human interface between border agencies and travellers.

Government and the ZimBorders Consortium completed modernising Beitbridge Border Post under a US$300 million build, operate and transfer (BOT) concept implemented through a private public partnership.

The acting head of immigration services at Beitbridge Border Post, Mr Trustworthy Manatsire said traffic has in the past few days been on the increase with figures expected to reach a peak at the weekend when travellers, mostly Zimbabweans based in South Africa flock back home to spend the holiday with their families.

“We are using the December template that includes, increased staff deployment, increased communication among agencies and our South African counterparts. To get things moving, we held an inter-border stakeholders meeting with our South African counterparts on Monday and we agreed on harmonising our operations to improve the smooth flow of traffic,” he said.

Mr Manatsire said since schools closed last week they have been handling an increased number of southbound travellers with an average of about 10 000 travellers passing through the border daily.

ZimBorders Consortium chief executive officer, Mr Francois Diedrechsen said at the moment there is smooth movement of traffic at the border.

“For now, everything is moving smoothly and we are just busy sorting out some post construction snags, but we are almost there and the flow of traffic is seamless.

“We are getting ready for the Easter weekend when we expect non-commercial traffic to peak,” he said.

Mr Diedrechsen said they are clearing an average of 800 commercial trucks daily at the freight terminals while the bus and the light vehicles terminals are handling 300 and 3 500 cars respectively on a daily basis.

Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is also encouraging travellers arriving in the country with foreign registered vehicles to make use of the electronic Temporary Import Permit facility eTIP online to avoid delays.

Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra)

South African border officials have also started separating traffic into light vehicles, pedestrians, buses and commercial lanes and deployed additional staff.

Limpopo Department of Transport and Community Safety spokesperson, Ms Tidimalo Chuene said they are ready to handle an increased volume of traffic volumes expected in the province over the next few days.

“The transport regulation team has already started to heighten visibility to curb infringements and encourage good driver behaviour with pre-Easter traffic law enforcement roadblocks and speed operations on critical roads across the province,” she said.

“Law enforcement officers will be working around the clock between the 6th and 10th of April to maximise visibility and aid the flow of traffic, especially on critical routes prone to congestion. These include the N1 especially around tollgates, R101, R510, R516, N11, R37, R555, R521, R524, R523, R36, R40, R71, R81, P277/1, Matlala road, some local routes, and the two border posts in the province, which is Beitbridge and Groblersbrug”.

Limpopo’s Member of Executive Committee (MEC) responsible for Transport and Community Safety, Ms Florence Radzilani yesterday called on all road users to ensure everyone’s safety over the long weekend.

She also urged law enforcement agents to continue to conduct their work with diligence and ensure that road users follow the rules while those who engage in criminal activities would be brought to book.

“As we approach the Easter long weekend, it is our wish as the Provincial Government, that we should all arrive alive. However, road safety starts with all of us,” said Ms Radzilani.

“As we embark on our journeys, let us make sure that our cars are roadworthy, we keep a safe following distance, we do not overtake at unsafe places, we do not drink and drive, and we rest enough on long journeys. Pedestrians, must wear visible colours at night, and keep away from the road.” — @tupeyo