Beit Bridge Border Post recorded a sharp increase in the number of travellers last year during the festive season, with statistics indicating that 51 601 people passed through the port of entry between Christmas Day and 31 December, compared to 18 222 during the same period.

The local regional immigration manager in charge of Beit Bridge Border Post, Mr Charles Gwede, said they handled the highest number of travellers on the entry side on Christmas Day, when 12 594 people entered the country.

“This year we handled an increase in the volume of both human and vehicle traffic during the festive season, compared to last year. Most of the travellers that we handled were Zimbabweans working in South Africa who were coming home for the Christmas holiday. Statistics show that we received 35 077 people on the entry side alone, a sharp increase compared to 9 725 during the same period last year,” he said.

On the departure side, immigration authorities handled 16 524 travellers, compared to 8 497 during the same period last year.

Gwede attributed the increase of travellers to the South African documentation exercise, which saw many Zimbabweans working in the country acquiring permits.

“Many of our people staying and working in South Africa are now documented after they acquired permits during the regularisation exercise in that country. They could now travel freely, which is why this year they came in large numbers compared to the previous years,” he said.

The South African government embarked on the process of documenting Zimbabweans illegally staying in that country between 5 May 2009 and 31 July 2011, during which more than 275 000 applications from Zimbabweans were processed, while several others were turned down and some are pending.

Beit Bridge is reported to be the busiest inland port of entry in sub-Saharan Africa, which handles a huge volume of traffic. This is mostly commercial vehicles, including those destined for neighbouring countries such as Zambia, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo, passing through daily.

On average, the border handles about 10 000 travellers daily, with the figures going up during the peak periods. “When we are not busy, the normal traffic flow of buses is 60, but during the peak period we get about 300 buses passing through on a daily basis. The infrastructure at the border on our side has a capacity to handle 4 000 travellers at a given time, which is why during the peak period like now, travellers encounter delays due to congestion coupled with a shortage of staff,” Gwede said.

As a decongestion strategy, the Department of Immigration had created additional counters where travellers would also utilize the cubicles situated outside the immigration hall.