Massive Congestion at Beitbridge Border Post as Zimbabweans Return to South Africa

Zimtrending has learnt from The Herald that over 500 000 people and nearly 100 000 vehicles used in  the country are Congested at the Beitbridge Border Post, with travellers rushing to get back to their bases in South Africa after the holidays.

Long queues of vehicles stretching for over 4km into Beitbridge town have been the order of the day over the past four days. Members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Zimbabwe Defence Forces and Beitbridge municipal police have been deployed on major roads leading to the border post.

Traffic has been categorised into light vehicles, buses, commercial and pedestrians to avoid congestion. Heavy vehicles and buses are using a bypass which goes through Vhembe View suburb, while light vehicles are using the main road leading to Bulawayo to access the border.

A source at the border said the slow movement of people into South Africa was also necessitated by the many security checks on travellers, considering that there were a number with fake or fraudulently acquired documents. “You will realise that the South Africans are thorough on security checks considering that there are a lot of people who want to play hide and seek with the law during major holidays,” said the source.

The South African Home Affairs Department said recently it deployed 400 more staff to major border posts, including Beitbridge, to address manpower challenges. Some travellers have been opting to use less busy ports from South Africa, which go through Plumtree, Mpoengs, Maitengwe and Mlambaphele via Botswana, in a bid to avoid congestion at Beitbridge.