650,000 travellers passed through Beitbridge during the festive season

AT least 650,000 travellers passed through the Beitbridge Border Post from South Africa during the festive period compared to the previous season's  524,511.

Charles Gwede, the assistant regional immigration manager in charge of Beitbridge Border Post, said they handled 646,779 travellers on both the exit and arrivals gates between December 1, 2013, and January 2, 2014.

Gwede said the highest number of travellers was recorded on December 21 when immigration officials cleared 36,130 inward travellers.

On the departure side, the highest number was recorded on January 2 when 15,324 people left the country.

"The festive period movement usually starts at the beginning of December and this time we handled 646,779 travellers between December 1, 2013, and January 2, 2014, marking an increase in the number of people who passed through Beitbridge during the festive season compared to the previous year when we recorded 524,511 travellers," he said.

Gwede said most of the travellers they cleared were Zimbabweans working in South Africa who had visited home for the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

On New Year's Day, some 8,872 travellers were cleared on the departure side while 3,462 entered the country through Beitbridge.

Gwede attributed the increase in the number 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 authentic permits during the regularisation exercise in that country hence they could now travel freely," he told Chronicle.

"There's also a lot of cross-border business during the festive season and that also contributes to an increase in traffic."

The South African government embarked on the process of documenting Zimbabweans illegally staying in that country between May 5, 2009, and July 31, 2011, during which over 275 000 applications from Zimbabweans were processed.

Beitbridge is the busiest inland port of entry in sub-Saharan Africa. Unlike in January last year, Gwede said, the border was less congested this time.

"We didn't encounter major challenges this time despite an increase in the number of travellers compared to previous years. This is partly because of a phenomenal shift in movement trends coupled with our decongestion strategies," he said.

"We harmonised our operations with our South African counterparts, which is precisely why we managed to arrest congestion. Once there is congestion on either side of the border, it automatically affects movement on both sides."

Gwede said the movement of travellers, especially Zimbabweans working in South Africa, was spread out as people travelled earlier compared to the previous years, a development that also contributed to a reduction in congestion.

Last year during this time, the border was characterised by long winding queues of cars, which stretched for more than 10km leading to the port of entry and in the process disrupting the smooth flow of traffic in Beitbridge.

Zimbabwean immigration officials blamed their South African counterparts for failing to absorb pressure on their side which subsequently resulted in the formation of long queues on the Zimbabwe border.

The Beitbridge Border Post handles about 8,000 travellers daily with the figures doubling up during major public holidays.