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Solving Beit Bridge border woes requires leadership, new infrastructure

Solving Beit Bridge border woes requires leadership, new infrastructure

Photo by Duane Daws

14th July 2014

By: Irma Venter

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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The design of the Beit Bridge border post is the biggest impediment to efficient freight movement between Zimbabwe and South Africa, says Cross-border Road Transport Agency CEO Sipho Khumalo.

Beit Bridge is the busiest border post in Africa.

A research study on the border post has shown that there are numerous steps to be followed on the South African side of the border before a truck can move to the Zimbabwean side, where the processes are promptly duplicated.

These include passing through a weighbridge, with the truck and driver then moving through security checks, customs, truck inspection, health and immigration.

Each of the roughly eight government agencies and departments in control of various functions on either side of the border take their time, with no coordination between the functions, says Khumalo.

The situation also pertains when trucks move from Zimbabwe to South Africa, but with one difference.

Trucks carrying multiple product lines from South Africa to Zimbabwe take the longest at the Beit Bridge border post, at an average of two days.

This increases to four days during the peak December period.

However, the same truck travelling south, to South Africa, can move through Beit Bridge in 30 minutes, as it is normally empty, notes Khumalo.

Bottlenecks appear to form at customs, aided by the poor alignment of processes between all the agencies represented at the border post.

The South African Revenues Service (Sars) and its Zimbabwean counterpart “took up the most time” at the border post, says Khumalo.

However, Sars says the situation has improved significantly since the research study, he adds.

The conclusions of the study were that the system is inefficient; that there is a lack of cooperation between agencies; that the border post infrastructure is inadequate; and there are too many documents and control points involved.

There is also a misalignment in terms of operating hours between the agencies and countries.

The number one change that can be brought to Beit Bridge and other border posts is committed leadership within the Southern African Development Community to change the situation at all border posts in the region, says Khumalo.

A second recommendation flowing from the study is to improve the operating interface between the transport and border authorities at Beit Bridge, followed by the construction of new infrastructure, and the deployment of fit-for-purpose systems.

However, says Khumalo, many wins can already be made by focusing on the softer side, and breaking down the walls that exist between the government silos at border posts.

South Africa could also benefit from a review of its border management and systems.

South Africa shares border posts with six countries, and has a 3 500 km border-line. There are 52 land border posts, of which 19 are commercial border posts.

* Khumalo spoke at the Southern African Transport Conference held in Pretoria last week.

 

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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