Immigration Officials Struggle As Beitbridge Border Post Is Overwhelmed By Travellers

Beitbridge Border Post is currently inundated with thousands of Zimbabweans travelling back to South Africa after the Festive period. Reports indicate that southbound (departures) traffic started increasing on 2 January as the festive season winds up.

Border authorities revealed on Sunday that they were clearing an average of 2500 light vehicles and 150 buses going into South Africa daily. A border official who spoke to State media said:

We have come up with a raft of measures to ensure that travellers spend the shortest possible time at the border.

The main challenge on the light vehicles is parking space on the South Africa complement of the border. You will note that most of the vehicles have been cleared for passage and we are only waiting for South Africa to create parking space for them to proceed.

The Assistant Regional Immigration officer-in-charge of Beitbridge (Zimbabwe) Mr Nqobile Ncube recently revealed the volumes that are normally experienced at the border post. He said then:

We are clear an average of 14 000 including arrivals and departures per day during off-peak periods and the figure rises to 30 000 during peak periods.

In addition, we have re-organised the border, where traffic is separated into pedestrians, motorists, buses, commercial and visitors to ensure a speedy flow of traffic.

Related:

• Zimbabweans Frustrated With Long Delays At Beitbridge Border Post

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