Lebombo truck crisis boils over in Komatipoort

The truckers’ protest by blocking the border follows months of frustration surrounding the ongoing inadequately managed flow of trucks at the border. Truck drivers started gathering at the port on Saturday evening and by Sunday had blocked off the entry point to the border.

By Monday morning, a winding line of trucks 19 kilometres long had formed, with drivers trying to speak to the dry port manager in hopes of resolving the issues. Dion Gregory (ops supervisor with Unitrans Africa) said the main grievances is “queue jumping”.

Some of the drivers sit in the queues to get across the border for up to three days and then they see people jumping the queue who only have to wait an hour to gain entry into Mozambique,” said Gregory.

“There has not been any violence, but the situation is tense.” By Monday afternoon, however, Gregory said the SANDF had come to the scene and told truck drivers to move their vehicles from the N4 leading up to the border crossing. He said the situation was still unfolding at the time of going to press.

The interim management of the Komatipoort Business Chamber (KBC) facilitated a discussion of the crisis on July 23 with Gregory and Philemon Ngcongwane (ops manager of Amalgamated Bulk, subdivision of RTG), representing the truck users passing through the Lebombo Border, Bridget Maloka of provincial traffic, Dolf Stassen of Home Affairs Immigration stationed at the Lebombo Border Post, and Jan Engelbrecht, John and Caroline O’Reilly and Richard Williams of KBC.

The issues discussed were why the border post could not be open 24/7, inadequate staff and equipment in some stations at the border post, insufficient traffic law enforcement, and a view to the future planning of government to address these. The challenge is to enable smooth, consistent and effective continued flow of trucks through the border, urgently, and if possible, with no stacking at all. If that fails, effective short stops along with effective law enforcement, said Engelbrecht, the spokesperson for the facilitators.

According to the truck drivers, Maputo Harbour consistently reports receipt in excess of 450 chrome-carrying trucks per day, sometimes as many as 600, from Sundays to Tuesdays. The rest of the week drops to around 300 to 350, due to slow movement through the border post. This figure is over and above the magnetite, coal, tanker, refrigerated and mixed-load vehicles processed through the border daily.

The most problematic area at the Lebombo Border Post seems to be with Customs. Of the several workstations available in the processing area, there are times when drivers report that only one staff member is manning the Customs area. Equipment is also an issue from time to time.

Gregory said on Monday (August 23) that as well as the queues being managed properly, truck drivers were also dismayed at the conditions of the ports where drivers stop to rest on their way through the border. “The conditions are terrible. The port is like a dust bowl. Transporters are charged to park their trucks there, but there are no ablution facilities. Drivers have to pay extra for those facilities,” he said. “We are really hoping we come to a resolution soon. If we can have the gates open 24/7 and stop vehicles from jumping the queue, 90% of the issues would be resolved,” he said.

KBC’s Jan Engelbrecht said they had also petitioned to have the borders open and allowing vehicles to pass through 24/7.

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“This has been going on for far too long. We have requested a meeting for August 27 with all the key players, however, the primary people (such as state departments and road agencies) had not yet confirmed.  “Things are mounting,” he said.

In a statement by Mozambique’s National Migration Service, they called on travellers to use alternative crossing posts until the situation at the Lebombo post is normalised. The statement said the entry and the exit at the Ressano Garcia Border has been suspended due to the roadblock by truck drivers on the South African side. 

They said the block was caused by alleged non-compliance with the queues by other trucks under the supervision of the authorities.

At the meeting in July, the national director of Port Entry, Home Affairs, Stephen van Neel, had said that the Border Management Authority Act has been proclaimed. It provides at long last a nodal authority that governs ports of entry management.

The act provides that it will be applied sectionally, and the proposed date of making it effective was June this year. Unfortunately, that has not yet been gazetted. When that is done, a port coordinating body will be incepted at ports, and the management for that will have the mandate to manage and rule over the specific port and port-specific matters.

He remains the responsible official in as far as the proper functioning of the Lebombo Border is concerned. At Lebombo Immigration, more or less 140 people are employed and deployed in shifts. They are deployed to ensure at least four desks are manned throughout the pandemic window. Their assessment is that the flow is presently well absorbed and entertained.

Van Neel also said at the July meeting that the operating hours being 18 hours per day or 24 is a national matter. It also relates to the bilateral relation with Mozambique. It cannot be changed according to demand without running it though the bureaucratic red tape and protocol. It demands discussions and acceptance, also, by the unions.

This is entertained presently by himself, and discussions are far advanced. For the same reason, permitting only, for instance, trucks to pass through 24/7 and not all other traffic, is technically impossible.