Surge in food aid to Zim clogs up Beitbridge

Beitbridge border post has recently
seen a tremendous upsurge in the
number of northbound commercial
vehicles carrying food aid to Zimbabwe
and, of course, returning empty.
“Having these trucks in addition to the
300-500 commercial vehicles that daily
use this border post has meant that there
have inevitably been some traffic queues,
but these have been cleared within the
day, with customs and affected agencies
coming in and working through the night to
clear the backlog," says Brian Kalshoven
of Beitbridge Border Clearing Agency,
part of the Linked Logistics chain.
“It has been estimated that a vehicle
carrying certain types of goods may need
the blessing of as many as 14 different
government departments in order to obtain
clearance,” he told FTW.
He notes that the numbers of return
loads have unfortunately reduced with the
value of the Zimbabwe dollar.
Imports of agricultural produce, raw
materials and manufactured goods from
that country have dwindled to a trickle.
The world recession and its effect on
prices of mineral products supplied from
SADC countries have seen a further drop
in this type of load.
“Recession notwithstanding, the
Cross-Border Road Transport Authority
(CBRTA) together with the South
African National Roads Agency Limited
(Sanral) have completed construction
of the new traffic control facility half a
kilometre south of the border post. Only
the electronics and equipment now need
to be installed.
“Word around the border is that
commissioning will be in March –
although rumours abound as to the checks
and facilities that will be implemented and
provided at the centre.”
According to Kalshoven, there will be
a weighbridge, road permit examination
offices, vehicle roadworthiness checking
facilities, a load adjustment area and an
area where bus passengers can alight while
their vehicles are checked or repaired.
“It goes without saying that having the
centre operational will cause disruption to
traffic on the N1,” he added. “The design
requires that some northbound traffic will
have to cross the N1 at an intersection,
which it appears will be traffic-light
controlled,” he said.