The SA Revenue Service (Sars) has denied that inadequate staffing at the problematic Beitbridge border crossing between South Africa and Zimbabwe is the reason for the backlog in cargo clearing, especially during spikes in volume transits, as has been the case in recent days.
Responding to a question about staff complements and capacity at the border appearing to be incapable of coping with increased demand during peak times, Beyers Theron, Sars’ head of customs border operations, ports of entry and customs compliance, said staffing was not an issue.
He indicated, among other things, that the lion’s share of cargo passing through the border was pre-cleared.
“It is important to note that in excess of 95% of customs declarations are ‘green-lane’ or released prior to arrival at a border.
“There is no need for additional staffing requirements as Sars has the ability with its current capacity and its automated procedures to process in excess of 2000 trucks a day.”
Theron added though that it did not exclude physical involvement as and if the need arose.
“We acknowledge that when we physically intervene we can improve our decision-making and turnaround times and we continue to work very hard in this regard.
“This, however, talks to a very small percentage of trade and would not have an impact on general congestion.”
* This is the first update of several response reports to come through following extensive feedback Freight News has received from Sars about the current congestion experienced at Beitbridge, especially with regard to northbound traffic. Thus far Sars remains the only government agency bothering to reply to attempts at extracting information about the shambolic state of South Africa’s border into Zimbabwe.
