Border posts - the good, the bad and the ugly

Trading across borders in southern Africa was described by one transport operator as “the most effective way of separating the sheep from the goats” and the most telling aspect of this is the relative efficiency, or lack thereof, of the border posts. Said one operator: “You need to be tough, extremely patient, disciplined, meticulous and pay close attention to detail.” He added that a good attitude and the ability to deal positively with people would help agents and transporters overcome the challenges. “You have a very basic choice to make, either you choose the pain of discipline or you suffer the pain of regret,” he said. To paraphrase George Orwell, who wrote in Animal Farm that “some are more equal than others”, some border posts perform far more efficiently than others – though overall, increased efficiency was called for at all the posts. And FTW uncovered some very pertinent examples of “the good, the bad and the ugly” from several transporters and agents who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation at the border posts. There were some variations on the individual feedback, but collectively a clearer picture formed of the general perceptions, which we collectively present: THE GOOD While there are still occasional delays at the Lebombo Border Post, it mostly runs smoothly thanks to the fact that it operates 24 hours a day, say operators. “There is generally good communication if there are going to be issues over busy periods or if systems are down,” one clearing agent noted. Other border posts widely identified as the “most efficient” were Ressano Garcia and Machipanda in Mozambique and Nyampanda in Zimbabwe. Another operator said the Namibia, Swaziland and Botswana borders were generally efficient. THE BAD Generally, the ‘bad’ border posts were described as lacking a sense of urgency, a lack of understanding or comprehension about clearance regulations and documents required, a bad attitude from officials, language issues and major access headaches over weekends, especially Fridays before long weekends where there are sometimes queues up to seven kilometres long. A logistics operator told FTW that at the Santa Clara border post in Angola there were numerous incidents where staff would deliberately delay and ask for unnecessary documents hoping the operators didn’t have them so they could demand penalties. The Mozambique border posts have a double clearing point system, says a Johannesburgbased transport operator. “First at Kilometre 4 and then either at Frigo or Multi-Modal; surely they can consolidate it into a single process,” he commented. Another noted that the language issue at Mozambique and Angola border posts was a particular challenge where a fee is needed for a translator or a runner to go and fetch a translator. THE UGLY Bribery, corruption, spitefulness, bad-tempered officials, strikes and interesting and unusual forms of “punishment” are rife at what is termed as the “ugly” border posts – Beitbridge in Zimbabwe highlighted in particular. “The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) releases are very slow, the officials are extremely unfriendly and are always testing the drivers for bribes. Even the slightest indication that the driver becomes impatient and they become very spiteful and you are sure of a delay,” noted one transporter. Another said that if a driver was sent for inspection as “punishment” for being difficult, there was a guarantee that there would be something wrong with the truck and the driver would be fined anything from US$500 to $1 000 for each “transgression”. “The total fines usually amount to in excess of $2 500 – with the option of a hefty bribe to erase all your sins and for the fines to miraculously disappear into thin air.”