Beitbridge action plan proposes one-stop border post … but achieving it is a long way off

While several plans to address
the numerous issues at
the Beitbridge border post
between South Africa and Zimbabwe
are in the pipeline, talk that it will
become a one-stop border post within
the next year is premature and not
realistic.
So says Barney Curtis, executive
director of the Federation of East and
Southern African Road Transport
Associations (Fesarta), who has
drawn up a six-page document on the
problems and the potential solutions for
the Beitbridge border post.
“This document was presented at a
workshop in May 2009 where SADC
endorsed and adopted the project.”
Several workshops have since
followed resulting in an action plan
being drawn up and circulated to
stakeholders. “Part of this action plan
includes a one-stop border post, but
there is still a long way to go before
this becomes a reality.”
Other documents that have been
drawn up include a Memorandum of
Understanding between South Africa
and Zimbabwe as well as terms of
reference for the task team taking the
process of the border post forward.
Probably the busiest border post
in Africa in terms of commercial
traffic, Beitbridge has been under
severe pressure for several years. “It
is definitely the busiest border post
in the region,” says Curtis, who has
spent much time investigating it.
“The infrastructure and systems are
particularly old and have for some
time been struggling to cope with the
increased traffic.”
Add to that the congestion issues
with the increase in traffic, and most
people who use the border post on a
regular basis say it is getting worse
and is nothing more than a ticking time
bomb.
“We must remember though that the
traffic at this border post has increased
ten fold in the past twenty years and
had nothing been done, it would take
weeks to get through. The problem is
that all the interventions and efforts
have not gone far enough and we are
just not keeping pace. Ultimately it is
heading for disaster,” says Curtis.
But with SADC finally on board
much is expected in coming months,
even if it is not the much-anticipated
and wanted one-stop border post.
With the Regional Trade Facilitation
Programme having come to an end in
October 2009, its replacement Trade
Mark SA is set to kick off soon.
“At the moment SADC is waiting
for comment on the three documents,
especially the action plan from the
stakeholders. They have also requested
some much-needed funding that will
be used to implement some of the
recommendations of the action plan. A
one-stop border post is definitely a part
of the future of Beitbridge, but it won’t
happen soon. Too much work still
needs to be done.”