SA, Swaziland to extend border hours

MBABANE – South Africa and
Swaziland have agreed to extend
operating hours for the key border post
at Oshoek to midnight beginning April
1, 2012.
After meeting with SA’s Minister of
Home Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma,
Swaziland’s home affairs minister, Chief
Mgwagwa Gamedze, said the two-hour
extension from the current 22:00. closing
represented the first step toward 24/7
operations at the main border crossing
between the countries.
Oshoek primarily serves traffic to and
from Gauteng, and is also utilised by SA
road freight hauliers destined for Maputo
who use the more direct route through
Swaziland. However, the route is at
present not available for round-the-clock
access because of the nine-hour nightly
closure at Oshoek. Swaziland’s Mhlume
border post with Mozambique currently
operates at a 24/7 capacity.
The road freight industry is delighted
by the development, particularly in
light of a de facto lessening of Oshoek
operating hours when Sars in an effort
to reduce truck queues, recently cut off
processing for freight arriving close to
closing time.