The Sub-Saharan road freight community finds itself in a period of extreme disruption from flooding in Namibia, congestion, crime and competency problems at various north-west borders between South Africa and Botswana, and cargo control inefficiencies at a Copperbelt crossing.
On Thursday morning, it was reported by the Transit Assistance Bureau (Transit) that a power failure had affected internet connectivity at the Kopfontein Border Post on the R49, an express supply chain crossing for Gaborone that is already compromised by overflow traffic from the border closure at Groblersbrug further north.
Any trucks with loads intended for Botswana, or over-border hauliers carrying in-transit cargo for the Copperbelt, were also warned against using the Trans-Kalahari Corridor (TKC) transit of Skilpadshek because of service delivery unrest near Zeerust.
Mike Fitzmaurice of Transist said the road to the Botswana border was a safety hazard when residents from informal settlements adjacent to the highway barricade the N4.
He said it happened frequently and the response time of South African law enforcement agencies was often delayed, posing a safety risk to trucks on this section of the TKC.
Recently, riot police fired stun grenades to disperse people for burning tyres, dragging branches across the road, and throwing stones.
The sudden deluge of various seasonal rivers in Namibia is also affecting logistics across the region, especially after a bridge on the main road from Rehoboth south of Windhoek washed away.
It means the TKC is going to have to take more traffic because logistics via the Ariamsvlei-Nakop crossing between southern Namibia and the Northern Cape will be disrupted by flood damage at Rehoboth.
Thankfully, South Africa’s power utility seems to be making headway in restoring power at Groblersbrug, meaning Copperbelt carriers might soon no longer have to use Kopfontein.
At 2:50pm on 20 March, Louise Wiggett of Global Trade Solutions, told Transist that Eskom had also confirmed that power had been restored to Kopfontein.
Transist itself carried the following update about Groblersbrug: “Eskom has made good progress in replacing cables and restoring electricity to the operational area.
“They are currently replacing cables in the residential area, beginning today.
“The infrastructure team is also completing other affected sites.”
It is understood that all areas at Groblersbrug are once again accessible.
“The port is expected to reopen in the middle of next week. We will notify you on the exact date next week Monday or Tuesday.”
The reopening of Groblersbrug will come as a tremendous relief to cross-border transporters, both over-border hauliers detouring through Botswana instead of Zimbabwe and express transporters carrying cargo to Gaborone.
However, further afield on the route to the copper mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), tankers at the Sakania Border Post have been stuck in queues for up to 14 kilometres because of a shortage of seals in the DRC.
Asked why operators weren’t using the alternative border of Mokambo further west, Fitzmaurice said the road, especially from Zambia, was in an extremely poor condition.
As for the main Copperbelt border of Kasumbalesa – the less said the better.
