The Transit Assistance Bureau (Transist) has announced that the Groblersbrug Border Post between South Africa and Botswana will officially reopen on Thursday, March 27, at 14h00.
The important crossing was closed on Sunday, March 2, after the Limpopo River burst its banks for the second time this year.
As a result, in-transit cargo carriers avoiding Zimbabwe by driving through Botswana towards copper mine clients in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, were forced to divert traffic to the Kopfontein Border Crossing.
Forced to use a transit meant for express logistics between Gaborone and Gauteng, transporters bottlenecked into Kopfontein, causing congestion and flagging the apparent lack of contingency capacity by various government departments, including the SA Revenue Service (Sars) and the Border Management Authority (BMA).
But whereas Sars indicated its willingness to roll out 24-hour services to help clear the queue at Kopfontein, the BMA has yet to issue any statement to Freight News about implementing day-long personnel operations to assist industry with South Africa’s border crossings into Botswana.
According to Transist, a media statement by the BMA was expected on Tuesday afternoon, March 25.
The information received by the Bureau about Groblersbrug, states: “Following the positive strides made thus far in replacing/repairing critical infrastructure, the decision has been reached to reopen the port on March 27.”
Reopening of the border will bring to a close a period of extreme difficulty for cross-border transporters and clients affected by the loss – for the second time this year – of a crucial transit.
Various industry stakeholders all agree that the Groblersbrug border should be run as a 24-hour operation as a matter of course, considering the amount of Copperbelt cargo that moves through Botswana.
Sars said on Monday it had waited for the BMA to hear about 24-hour operations at the border.
The BMA said it had expanded capacity at Kopfontein, not adding whether it intended to align with Sars’ round-the-clock congestion-alleviation strategy.
