South Africa’s Border Management Authority (BMA) has confirmed that the Groblersbrug and Kopfontein border posts into Botswana will be run as 24-hour crossings as part of its Easter Operation Plan (EOP).
The first day of 24-hour operations will be on Wednesday, 16 April, at the Kopfontein Border Post, followed by Groblersbrug on 17 and 20 April.
The Van Rooyens Gate Border Post into Lesotho, east of Wepener in the Free State, is the other transit that has been identified by the BMA as part of its 24-hour EOP roll-out.
BMA Commissioner Dr Nakampe Masiapatho told a media conference on Thursday morning: "There will be focused deployments, there will be intensified security measures, there will be increased security capacity as well as streamlined border checks.
“All of this will be done in order to ensure the smooth as well as the secure passage for all travellers while maintaining vigilance against illegal activities."
The announcement of the 24-hour operations comes at least 10 days after Freight News last tried to seek confirmation from the BMA – in vain – about proposed round-the-clock operating hours at problematic borders such as Groblersbrug.
For most of March, the important crossing, used by in-transit cargo carriers transporting goods from South Africa to the Copperbelt, was closed after the Limpopo River flooded facilities on March 2.
Groblersbrug shutting down forced over-border hauliers to use Kopfontein Border Post to the south, causing days-long congestion at a transit that’s primarily used for express supply chain from Gauteng to Gaborone.
Industry appealed to the South African Revenue Service to implement 24-hour operations at Kopfontein to help speed up customs services, and the collector eventually agreed.
But the BMA seemed undecided about 24-hour operations, stalling cross-border trucks that had been waiting for days to cross at the R49 transit.
The BMA’s decision to use Easter for 24-hour service delivery deployments at borders such as Groblersbrug and Kopfontein, will no doubt be welcomed by industry.
Speaking at the same media conference where the BMA announced the deployment of new digital capacity, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said the current developments marked “the single-biggest step forward in border management ever”.
