Following serious congestion at various supply chain borders with Botswana, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) has acknowledged the need for urgent contingency measures, announcing it is “working on a 24-hour extension for one of the ports”.
Responding to questions by Freight News on behalf of the cross-border transport community, Sars didn't say whether the transit in question will be Kopfontein, where Botswana-bound trucks have sat in 20km queues on the R49.
The once free-flowing border has experienced significant build-up after the rain-swollen Limpopo River and two other tributaries flooded customs facilities at Groblersbrug Border Post (GBR), an important crossing used for in-transit cargo towards the Copperbelt.
Since the transit north of Kopfontein was closed on 2 March, long-haul truck deviation away from GBR has also affected border crossings further south, namely Skilpadshek on the Trans-Kalahari Corridor and Ramatlabama north of Mahikeng.
But Kopfontein, ordinarily used for express logistics from South Africa to Gaborone, has experienced the brunt of bottlenecking.
Sars said on Monday it had "managed to decrease the 14-kilometre queue at the border to five kilometres."
The customs authority emphasised that the steady arrival of more trucks continues to pose challenges to impacted cargo processing.
“Botswana and South Africa are working together to facilitate the cargo as quickly as possible despite the increased volume and limited infrastructure, which includes one lane for sedans, LDVs, kombis, buses and trucks,” Sars said.
“The current long queues at Kopfontein have been noted, and Sars has increased capacity to assist with the added volume of cargo while Groblersbrug remains temporarily closed.”
On Monday, Mike Fitzmaurice, regional vice president of the African Union’s Organisation for Transport and Logistics, said the industry had appealed to Sars for longer operating hours to clear the backlog.
This was after the Botswana Unified Revenue Service said it would extend operating hours until 2am.
Previously, Sars had apparently indicated that operating hours could only be extended until midnight.
However, pressure from cross-border hauliers seems to have forced the hand of Sars and the Border Management Authority (BMA), and the road freight industry keenly awaits confirmation of which one of the borders will see the implementation of 24-hour operations.
Sars said: “This will be communicated in due course as there are still preparations to be made.”
The authority added that it is “working around the clock to speed up the process of reopening the GBR port of entry.
“It should be emphasised that the February flood was substantial, resulting in delays due to some infrastructure remaining underwater,” such as the sewage system.
Fitzmaurice, who also heads up the Federation of East and Southern African Road Transport Associations, said Fesarta’s members are grateful that Sars has realised the urgency of the current situation.
Prior to Sars’ announcement of extended operating hours, he said some transport fleet companies serving the Copperbelt were facing business closure because, due to over-regulation in Zimbabwe, they were detouring through Botswana.
After the loss of GBR, sharing a supply chain border specifically for Botswana has played havoc with in-transit cargo travelling time to Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Fesarta’s Transit Assistance Bureau (Transit) has since shared the following “GBR update” it received from Sars: “There is good progress, and the infrastructure team is working around the clock to repair and replace.
“The flood has damaged most Eskom cables, both operational and residential. Eskom will replace the affected cables, and we will be able to confirm the port's readiness to reopen as soon as possible. The cables have already been ordered and received. We will keep you updated.”
Fitzmaurice said that although Sars and the BMA should be applauded for recognising the reality on the ground experienced by transporters, it is concerning that immediate contingency measures are not in place.
He pointed out that GBR flooded earlier this year as well, also closing and disrupting traffic across the river.
Yesterday, a clearing agent told Freight News that manual processes should be considered as a recovery-period fallback measure in the absence of digitised clearing, especially when floodwater recedes from the actual bridge across the Limpopo, which it has.
The general consensus from industry is that GBR floods whenever the Limpopo bursts its banks, and yet Sars and the BMA do not seem to think that the customs control zone should be moved away form the river.
In defence of Sars and the BMA, some private-sector stakeholders say border facility reconfiguration at GBR will come at significant capital expenditure.
Lesley Mpofu, who heads up the Trans-Kalahari Corridor (TKC), warned a couple of years ago that the TKC would be impacted by spill-over traffic because authorities did not consider what impact GBR could have on the Kazungula One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) across the Zambezi River between Botswana and Zambia.
He said it was shortsighted to improve one link from South Africa to the Copperbelt while neglecting another.
Although the Kazungula Bridge opened to traffic in May 2021, Fitzmaurice said authorities had known for several years in advance that GBR would not be able to keep pace with the OSBP’s traffic-handling capacity.
Now, with GBR expected to stay closed until April, importers from Botswana and cross-border transporters serving the Copperbelt are feeling the economic impact of poor planning and delayed responsiveness from authorities responsible for facilitating trade.
