South Africa’s Ramatlabama Border Post into Botswana will be closed for long stretches this weekend because of the ongoing issue of Port Health staff not being permanently available.
According to a schedule sent to the Transist Assistance Bureau (Transist), the crossing will only be open from 6am to 2pm this weekend, June 12 and 13.
Only from Monday, June 14-17, will the border open till 10pm.
Transporters using the R503 towards Botswana are advised to adapt their trips accordingly.
The update, posted on Transist’s WhatsApp group, adds to the growing frustration among transporters about an issue that many private sector interests say could have been resolved by now.
Last Friday it was confirmed that the unavailability of Port Health staff was the result of contracts not being renewed with community health workers required to fill these roles.
Since the matter was brought to the attention of Freight News, all South Africa’s borders into Botswana have experienced sporadic closure because of the issue.
Supply chains through South Africa’s Vioolsdrift and Nakop borders into Namibia have also been affected by Port Health staff not always being on hand to man these ports of entry.
On Tuesday the issue also affected Mananga Border Post into Eswatini.
