South Africa have deployed 40 more immigration officials at Beit Bridge Border Post, resulting in an improvement in the movement of both human and vehicular traffic.

The officials were deployed a fortnight ago, following an outcry over delays in the clearance of travellers leaving and entering that country.

Mr Calvin Mulaudzi of South Africa’s Border Operations and Coordinating Committee (BOCC) told Limpopo Mirror that they had since created more clearing points to ensure a smooth flow of traffic. “Zimbabwe is one of our largest trade partners, hence the need to address issue affecting free trade,” he said. He added that the deployed officials completed an intensive in-house training programme, which equipped them with skills to help facilitate a smooth flow of traffic.

“We have also started adjusting our evening/morning shifts in light of the huge volume of traffic that we handle during those times. At the moment, the situation is under control and there is no need for travellers to panic,” he said.

About 9 000 travellers access Beit Bridge Border Post daily, with the figures going up during peak periods.

Mulaudzi said they were likely to deploy more officers the coming month. “We have a team on the ground that is investigating the movement trend at the border and once we get its report, we are likely to deploy more staff to beef up,” he said.

Mulaudzi said they had created four more clearance points on both the arrivals and departure side. “The situation has improved and we will continue reviewing progress every week. We are very grateful for the support and inputs that we have been getting from our Zimbabwean counterparts through our inter-border meetings,” said Mulaudzi.

He said they increased the number of officials per shift from 26 to 30 in a move set to improve the flow of traffic. “The rate at which we cleared travellers entering the country is different from clearing those departing, largely because of the rigorous control processes involved since we have to account for everyone entering South Africa, in line with the country’s immigration laws,” he said.

“We have also categorised travellers, so that we speed up the clearance process. People with work permits, day trippers and those visiting the country for more than two weeks are assisted separately.”