The popularity among Copperbelt transporters to rely on free-flowing movement at the Kazungula One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) across the Zambezi River has unfortunately trickled down to cause congestion at the Groblersbrug transit across the Limpopo.
This has been confirmed by Kago Ramoroka, public relations manager for South Africa’s Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA) in reaction to a set of questions about congestion at the crucial crossing.
“The border post is experiencing high traffic volumes as a result of the opening of the Kazungula Bridge between Botswana and Zambia,” he said.
Commenting on OSBP efficiencies at Kazungula, Ramoroka remarked that “it is a known fact that this has resulted in operators opting for this route as opposed to the previously preferred border posts such as Beitbridge and others”.
But the resulting spike in traffic at Groblersbrug, where trucks idle for three days before crossing into Botswana, is also caused by other factors, such as the sharp increase in demand for acid at the copper mines in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Ramoroka is also right in identifying avoidance of the North-South Corridor (NSC) to the Copperbelt as a leading contributor to the bypass route through Botswana.
Exorbitant concession fees at the Beitbridge border, as well as poor roads in Zimbabwe and punishing transit duties, have contributed to long-haul transporters preferring to go via Groblersbrug.
Kazungula’s potential impact on the South African border was flagged as long ago as May 2021, when the border opened and Lesley Mpofu, CEO of the Trans-Kalahari Corridor (TKC), warned that Groblersbrug’s single lane was going to become a choke point.
Ramoroka said the same, adding that “inadequate parking areas, and the overall infrastructure was not designed to accommodate these high traffic volumes, the main cause of the congestion and long queues”.
To assist industry during this time of trickle-traffic through a border that handles most of the fuel and other Hazchem cargo heading to the Copperbelt, agency officials have “been on the ground to manage traffic flows to and from this specific Port of Entry and many others around the country, even though traffic management is not the core function of the C-BRTA,” Ramoroka said.
More importantly, about the mess that has been created outside the customs control zone, where self-appointed drivers often step into a marshalling role to ‘manage’ the queue, Ramoroka is quite right when he says: “The Border Management Authority (BMA) is in a better position to explain this better.”
In fact, it is the authority’s jurisdiction, and the BMA’s deputy acting commissioner, Mmemme Mogotsi, whose actual responsibility is communications and marketing, has yet to honour an undertaking for comment and information.
This Tuesday a week ago she said she would respond.
Three days later, she was reminded that nothing had been received.
On September 23 she was again reminded that the BMA had said it would respond to what was going on at Groblersbrug, but to no avail.
Why the BMA is not policing a border it’s supposed to remains unclear.
Ramoroka has said that in many instances the C-BRTA’s hands are tied, such as getting involved with the dangerous goods (DG) truck park, which shouldn’t allow general cargo trucks, but does.
“Unfortunately, the operations at the truck parks are privately owned and the C-BRTA cannot intervene. The owners of the truck parks can shed light on their operations and how they can contribute towards improved traffic flow (at the border).
“According to our observations, the DG parking also includes all-cargo trucks, which contributes to the main problem because they operate on a first-come-first-to-go system.
“Our Law Enforcement unit did engage the owner about this problem, and they promised to look into the matter and indicated that they are looking forward to opening a new truck park which will strictly be for DG.”
He said it should be taken into consideration that the C-BRTA was not responsible for what happened inside the border itself, as it was the duty of the port manager and customs to control the movement of cargo.
“The C-BRTA cannot take responsibility for everything that is taking place along the corridor,” said Ramoroka.
But transporters mostly agree that the problem isn’t inside the customs area itself but on the outside when free rein regularly creates issues, causing queues on the N11, which in recent days have stretched to five kilometres and taken up to four days to clear.
Ramoroka isn’t wrong for saying that essentially, it’s a BMA issue, as the Authority’s mandate clearly states that it is legally responsible for a 10km radius at each of South Africa’s ports of entry.
Mike Fitzmaurice of the Transit Assistance Bureau, said he agreed that the BMA should step up.
“It should take the lead role here and get all the stakeholders together and be saying how can we collectively collaborate to make this work in the interest of trade facilitation and the transporters.
“To sit back and say it's outside of my jurisdiction and allow drivers to openly standoff with law enforcement agencies to take control of the situation is just not acceptable.”
He said the C-BRTA’s mandate clearly stated: “(The) Stakeholder Relations division provides operational support to cross-border operators regarding conflict resolution, resolution of constraints and impediments, and dissemination of information relevant to their operations.
“The division establishes and maintains cooperative and consultative relationships with key stakeholders in the SADC region. Stakeholders range from international, national, provincial, and local authorities to passenger and freight operators and any other relevant stakeholders who work for the benefit of the cross-border road transport industry.”
But this is not the case, Fitzmaurice argues.
To assist the regional road freight industry with cross-border hold-ups is, after all, one of the reasons he formed the Transit Assistance Bureau, widely hailed as the most successful intervention body for Copperbelt hauliers.
Ramoroka also reiterated what has been said before by the C-BRTA, that if Copperbelt transporters did not want to use Beitbridge because of the congestion at Groblersbrug, they should use the N4 border post of Skilpadshek (SKH) on the TKC.
A supplier of fuel from South Africa to the DRC said this would add too many kilometres to the journey, stripping profit out of his business and rendering Copperbelt journeys unfeasible.
To minimise cost through avoiding expensive border fees and the wear and tear of bad roads is one of the reasons he doesn’t use the NSC, which is shorter than the route through Botswana.
An over-border haulier who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “The C-BRTA can’t just shrug this off. It’s their primary function – assisting intra-regional trade for road transporters. Groblersbrug is the most preferred way for operators in South Africa to serve the Copperbelt by bypassing Zimbabwe.
“Government isn’t there to dictate to us what way to take. It’s for them to help us. It’s what we pay their fees for.”
- On Wednesday afternoon after 3pm, when this post had already gone up, Mogotsi finally responded as follows:
The Commissioner of the Border Management Authority (BMA), Dr Michael Masiapato, wishes to assure stakeholders and the public that the Authority is fully aware of the current challenges being experienced at Groblersbridge (sic) and it is addressing them.
In recent weeks, there has been a significant increase in traffic volumes as many trucks divert from other ports of entry such as Beitbridge and Kopfontein, choosing Groblersbridge as their preferred route.
While Groblersbridge is primarily a commercial port designed to process high volumes of cargo alongside medium traffic of vehicles and pedestrians, the BMA continues to do everything possible within its limited infrastructure to ensure that cargo is cleared efficiently.
It is important to clarify that the BMA is not responsible for directing trucks to the truck park, that responsibility lies with the truck park owner but we are liaising with traffic management to also intervene to assist with the congestion.
In addition, traffic flow on the N11 is effectively managed by the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA) and traffic officials. They are ensuring order and smooth movement outside the port. The queues at the port remain manageable and cargo movement continues at a steady pace, even as more trucks arrive daily.
Beitbridge is currently clearing between 150 to 250 trucks per day, whereas Groblersbridge, despite operating with a single-lane bridge, is successfully clearing 450 to 500 trucks per day.
The BMA further emphasises that clearance is not based on specific trucking companies. As long as all documentation is in order, cargo is processed without discrimination. In addition, all dangerous goods are exempted from queuing at the port.
The BMA remains committed to ensuring secure, efficient, and fair border management processes, and we continue to work with all stakeholders to manage the increased cargo volumes effectively.
