November 14: 09:10 – An appeal has been made by cross-border trade facilitators to encourage long-distance drivers using the N4 Maputo Corridor to proceed through South Africa’s Lebombo Border Post to Ressano Garcia on the Mozambican side of the border.
"This comes after several transporters and private-sector stakeholders reported that Mozambican authorities were ready to receive loads destined for the Port of Maputo."
However, due to ongoing uncertainty over the safety situation at the border post in Ressano, drivers are hesitant to leave the “bypass area” at Lebombo.
Louise Wiggett from Global Trade Solutions asked road freight operators “to please engage them (drivers) to start moving to allow other trucks that want to move to get access to the bypass please”.
However, last night information kept filtering through about driver harassment on the Corridor.
It came after the Border Management Authority in South Africa temporarily closed the gate in the control zone because of post-election election unrest in Mozambique.
While the last news at about 9am this morning (November 14) indicated that the border was operational again, officials in Mozambique warned that the situation remained volatile, contributing to the atmosphere of fear among drivers.
On the radio in South Africa several drivers complained of what can only be described as a worsening human rights situation at the border.
Although waiting time at Lebombo – which isn’t new, considering ore trucks regularly back-up at the notoriously congested border – the lack of basic facilities (mostly ablution) continues to afflict drivers spending extended hours couped up in their cabins.
