Road closure at Lebombo Border: what you need to know about the current traffic backlogs

The N4 between the Strydomblok and Komatipoort intersection to the Lebombo Border is closed due to truck congestion. It is currently unknown when traffic would be cleared and the road opened again.

The road has been closed since the early hours of Tuesday morning, June 6. It is believed the current queue starts at the Tenbosch/N4 junction, about 20km from the border post.

There are also reports from various sources in and around Komatipoort that other roads around the area have also been affected.

The Border Management Authority’s (BMA) commissioner, Major General David Chilembe, said he is aware of the closure and that the cause of the major congestion is a combination of trucks awaiting proceed-to-port permits, the high volume of trucks attempting to enter the border post, as well as truck drivers not obeying to the rules of the road and blocking lanes.

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He said no traffic is entering or exiting the border, and that the BMA has called on local law enforcement to try and ease the congestion.

TRAC’s Solange Soares said that several reports to the concessionaire indicated that the congestion had been caused by a processing issue at the border post, and that it has a direct impact on the N4. She said TRAC had no control over the backlog and has no power or jurisdiction to try and resolve the matter. She said a TRAC team had been to the area several times, and that law enforcement had also been dispatched. She said there was no estimated time by when the road would be cleared.

One transporter, Dion Gregory, confirmed the closure had resulted in multiple blockages on the N4 and surrounds. He said the systems at the border had reportedly started having issues on Friday, June 2, and that the Mananga, Tenbosch and Strydomblok roads are all affected. He said the backlogs are costing transporters millions per day and had a major social impact on the surrounding communities as well as the health and safety of the drivers.

Another transporter, Neels Pohl, said the current situation on the N4 is utter chaos. He said trucks are entering the residential areas of Komatipoort, causing damage to the roads and creating congestion in town, and the biggest problem is that there is a lack of law enforcement on the ground. “We need traffic officers on the road 24/7. No one should be able to block a national road.”

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He said even when law enforcement are policing the road, the moment the officers leave, the chaos restarts. Pohl said the road to Mananga has been completely blocked. “It is just five lanes of trucks for about two or three kilometres.”

Komatipoort Business Chamber’s Jan Engelbrecht said many Komatipoort parents were late dropping their children at school for exams as a consequence of the roadblocks. “We need 24/7/365 traffic law enforcement. It should be complemented with policing to address the rising crime. We trust BMA may supplement the numbers of traffic law enforcement. Unfortunately, time runs out, and we fear the frustrated community and affected parties may take matters into their own hands.”

The chamber’s John O’Reilly added that the situation has prevailed for almost two years. “It has clearly been deteriorating month after month to the state that it currently is in,” he said.

Both the Mpumalanga SAPS and the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison’s spokesperson, Moeti Mmusi, said information regarding the situation was being gathered. The department’s and the police’s comment will be added as soon as it is made available.