Freight sector interests and the public should take heed of misleading information that might serve to promote an inaccurate and outdated narrative about the situation on the N4 Corridor to the Port of Maputo.
According to Barbara Mommen, a trade and transport specialist working on the corridor, a report published yesterday by Freight News creates a misleading impression of what’s happening at the moment.
Referring to the border posts of Lebombo and Ressano Garcia, she said: “The reality at the moment is that there have been no queues and no incidents we have heard of, since 1 January.
“The National Logistics Crisis Committee and private-sector partners from Mozambique are working really hard to keep vital supply chains moving, with help from the military and police, on the Maputo Corridor.”
The truck driver’s account of a harrowing experience at the hands of protestors in Mozambique was most likely experienced in the early stages of the protests from mid-November or early December when there had been several severe incidents of violence reported, said Mommen.
“It’s been incredibly difficult to keep a finger on what is true and what is not.
“The Maputo Corridor is so important to the region. Not only is the Port of Maputo crucial for South Africa’s mineral exports, but the Port of Beira and Nacala are critical to ensuring movement of fuel and goods into Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
“These landlocked countries are really dependent on those supply chains working as well. What we are hearing is that these supply chains have been functioning fairly effectively since the beginning of the year.”
She said the bigger picture should be considered, as it was not just about business interests but the impact it had on people when supply chain disruption occurred.
“Ultimately, it’s the poorest of the poor that suffer the most.”
Mommen said there was comfort to be had in that efforts to ensure food supplies and essential cargo remained flowing into an area that had made headlines for its precarious political situation.
