LEBOMBO – If you have proof that you have at least R3 000 in your bank account, own a credit card or have the same amount in cash, you may enter South Africa from Mozambique.
This was the reality commuters faced when they reached the border post this week and it caused absolute chaos.
South African border officials and authorities suddenly implemented the so-called financial stability legislation. Home Affairs spokesman Mr Mayihlome Tshwete stated that the law requiring all travellers from other countries to prove that they had enough funds to cover their visit to South Africa, was not a new law but an old one being enforced.
The Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative (MCLI) told media that this had led to considerable delays for freight, tourists, business and informal traders, which were exacerbated when rioters blockaded the Lebombo and Ressano Garcia border posts.
Eyewitnesses stated that in retaliation, the protesting Mozambicans prevented the South Africans from entering the neighbouring country. Following this, the requirements were withdrawn, allowing traffic to pass through the border.
In a statement, the MCLI declared that they would directly contact the minister of home affairs to settle the issue. “This requirement takes us back to pre-2005 when similar requirements were implemented,” the statement says, “and [it] is in direct conflict with the regional integration policy of the Southern African Development Community, which expressly seeks to promote the ease of movement of people and goods through our borders.”
The statement called the implemen-tation of the legislation discriminatory towards informal traders who moved through the border daily, and warned that the long-term impact on the region’s economy could be serious.
Yesterday morning, travellers from Mozambique couldn’t enter the country without providing proof of sufficient funds.
Tshwete said they would have to train officials properly on the implementation of laws pertaining to visitors. At the time of going to press the border was back to normal.
