South Africa’s Skilpadshek Border Post into Botswana on the Trans-Kalahari Corridor (TKC) is closed this morning because the only Port Health official available to screen travellers and truck drivers for Covid-19 is ill.
In a message sent to the Transit Assistance Bureau (Transist) this morning, one of the group’s members said it was expected that the important TKC transit point would be closed for a while because there was no replacement or back-up for the official who is unwell.
Mike Fitzmaurice, chief executive of the Federation of East and Southern African Road Transport Associations (Fesarta), confirmed the situation, adding that Fesarta had been told it would be kept abreast of what was happening at Skilpadshek.
He said that Kwena Morifi, station manager at the border post, had said that the absence of the Port Health official was due to Covid-19.
It’s not clear what the current situation is at Kopfontein Border Post further north, an alternative port of entry which last week was closed after a South African police officer tested positive for the coronavirus.
In the meantime, Freight News is still waiting to hear from the Department of Health (DoH) about the desperate situation that has developed around its inability to hire community health service providers to assist with Port Health duties.
The matter, which the DoH has confirmed is due to budgetary constraints, has resulted in severe disruption of effective regional freight flow, especially on the TKC through Skilpadshek.
For some reason the DoH has snubbed industry initiatives to institute temporary alleviation strategies, such as allowing private sector concerns to hire Port Health officials.
A recommendation to ask immigration officers to stand in for Port Health officials, since Covid-19 screening is regarded as a straightforward task that doesn’t require specialised training, has also been turned down.
Last week, frustration around the department’s perceived inability to effectively deal with the problem caused two border executives to accuse the acting health minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, of knowing about the Port Health staffing issue for at least three weeks, but doing nothing about it (Read this: https://tinyurl.com/3uzy9kpa).
Industry sources are also increasingly connecting the department’s financial delinquency in respect of its Port Health responsibilities to the Digital Vibes fraud scandal that has resulted in Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize being placed on forced leave.
