News / National
Holiday travel chaos at Beitbridge border post
1 hr ago |
104 Views
Scenes of frustration and long delays confronted holiday travellers at the Beitbridge border post on Sunday, with thousands queued for hours to enter Zimbabwe from South Africa.
Motorists reported waiting up to nine hours to obtain temporary import permits (TIPs) for their foreign-registered vehicles. Some accused touts of jumping the queue through corrupt arrangements with ZIMRA officers, worsening the congestion.
"I waited nine hours to be served," said one traveller from Johannesburg. "I filled in the TIP information online as recommended by ZIMRA, but you still need to pay physically at Beitbridge, and ZIMRA just doesn't have the capacity to process everyone timely." Another driver noted that he arrived at 11 AM and only received his TIP after 7 PM.
Some motorists observed that ZIMRA tellers appeared to deliberately slow the process, while runners facilitated queue-jumping for those who paid extra.
ZIMRA maintained that it enforces zero tolerance to bribery and corruption and encouraged travellers to report any illegal activities. Officials noted that the delays could be mitigated if TIP payments were accepted online, leaving only printing and stamping at the border.
Thousands of Zimbabweans are returning home for Christmas and New Year, and authorities are currently processing around 13,000 travellers daily, with numbers expected to peak in the days leading up to the holidays.
Last year, South Africa's Border Management Authority reported that 645,590 people moved through Beitbridge during the festive season.
Motorists reported waiting up to nine hours to obtain temporary import permits (TIPs) for their foreign-registered vehicles. Some accused touts of jumping the queue through corrupt arrangements with ZIMRA officers, worsening the congestion.
"I waited nine hours to be served," said one traveller from Johannesburg. "I filled in the TIP information online as recommended by ZIMRA, but you still need to pay physically at Beitbridge, and ZIMRA just doesn't have the capacity to process everyone timely." Another driver noted that he arrived at 11 AM and only received his TIP after 7 PM.
Some motorists observed that ZIMRA tellers appeared to deliberately slow the process, while runners facilitated queue-jumping for those who paid extra.
ZIMRA maintained that it enforces zero tolerance to bribery and corruption and encouraged travellers to report any illegal activities. Officials noted that the delays could be mitigated if TIP payments were accepted online, leaving only printing and stamping at the border.
Thousands of Zimbabweans are returning home for Christmas and New Year, and authorities are currently processing around 13,000 travellers daily, with numbers expected to peak in the days leading up to the holidays.
Last year, South Africa's Border Management Authority reported that 645,590 people moved through Beitbridge during the festive season.
Source - Zimlive
Join the discussion
Loading comments…
