Huge congestion at border as truck wait for days to enter Mozambique

A customs clearance agent, Mike Barlow, cited in Monday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Carta de Mocambique”, said that, in recent days, there has been a queue of around 1,000 trucks on the South African side. The queue was about 9.6 kilometres long.

One transport operator, who declined to be identified, said “things are crazy on this side. The trucks that were waiting to enter Mozambique since Wednesday only managed to cross the border at the weekend. On average, it is taking four to five days for the cargo to be processed”.

Blame has been put at the door of the computerized systems of the South African Revenue Service (SARS). “From what we understand”, said Barlow, “it’s a problem with the SARS system. Often it stops and takes a long time to come back online”.

There has been increased traffic of South African mineral exports heading to the port of Maputo. Nonetheless, said Barlow, “I could understand a waiting period of five hours, taking into consideration the number of trucks using that border, but a wait of five days is absurd”.

Truck drivers have been obliged to sleep in their cabs, and have frequently been attacked by armed gangs. Barlow said one of his clients has withdrawn his 286 trucks from the route to Maputo.

“He is thinking of redirecting his trucks to handle local cargo, and even to take coal to the South African port of Richards Bay”, said Barlow (although Richards Bay also faces a long queue of trucks).

A member of the South African Transit Assistance Bureau, said that SARS is moving towards solving its problems through its Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system. Cargo was now moving more quickly, he claimed, but admitted that the frontier is still “very congested”.

The situation has become so difficult that the Mozambican government, through its consulate in the eastern South African city of Nelspruit, has issued a statement warning Mozambican citizens against travelling to South Africa by road for any non-essential business.

This is not only because of the lengthy delays, but also because of the frequent criminal attacks against Mozambican vehicles, which have occurred not only near the border, but even inside Nelspruit.

If Mozambicans must drive to South Africa, the consulate added, they should aim to cross the border at Ressano Garcia between 09.30 and 13.30, since at this period there is a substantial reduction in traffic. Buses and trucks travelling from Mozambique to South Africa normally aim to cross the border early in the morning or at the end of the day.

The consulate adds that both the Mozambican and South African authorities strongly advise Mozambicans against travelling along the South African roads at night.

(AIM)