Further delay to resolution of Beitbridge border issues

The Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (CBRTA) will meet its Zimbabwean counterparts in June this year after a meeting scheduled for March was postponed. According to Tracy Naik of the CBRTA, the meeting was to have taken place on March 11 but was then postponed to April before being moved to June. A CBRTA delegation will travel to Zimbabwe in an effort to resolve some ongoing issues around the Beitbridge border post. The meeting with officials from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) and the Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) remains extremely urgent for the CBRTA, which has vowed to cross-border operators in South Africa that it will address the exorbitant fees being charged at the border post as well as the slow procedures. Complaints around the complexity of legislation which results in major misunderstandings will also be addressed. Earlier this week Minister of Transport Sibusiso Ndebele said the South African government was extremely concerned about the congestion and delays taking place at the border post, the busiest in southern Africa. Describing Beitbridge as “bursting at its seams”, Ndebele said solutions had to be found sooner rather than later. According to Naik, transporters should send any issues they want taken up with the Zimbabweans to the CBRTA as soon as possible. Operators have also been invited to join the South African delegation.