The urgency of public and private cross-border trade facilitators was underscored by the news on Wednesday morning that another important road freight link with one of South Africa’s neighbours has been restored.
According to Louise Wiggett of Global Trade Solution, operations at the Groblersbrug Border Post into Botswana, which had been closed due to flooding, resumed at 10am on January 29.
This is well ahead of schedule, considering the damage sustained when the Limpopo River broke its banks recently, flooding Customs facilities and causing border personnel to be evacuated from the area.
Initially, it was feared that the important transit on the north-south route connecting South Africa with copper and cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia, bypassing Zimbabwe, would remain closed well into February.
Wiggett said the related South African Revenue Service (Sars) division, headed up by Beyers Theron, had worked overtime to get operations back on track.
She added that the role regional Sars manager, Memory Ndou, had played in exceeding expectations for the recommencement of operations, deserved mentioning.
“She’s a real star. Without her, I don’t know how we would’ve managed. Ultimately it comes down to teamwork, in which instance I think everyone involved, especially from Sars, pulled together.”
Expediting the reopening of primary border posts is a highlight of logistics developments in South Africa for the week.
Earlier this week, as with speculation around Groblersbrug, industry feared that the Oshoek Border Post was also going to be indefinitely closed after a runaway tipper truck carrying a full load of coal, smashed into South Africa’s primary access into Eswatini.
Considering the visible devastation at the N17 transit, wrongful information that operations at the border would be suspended for some time, was too easily accepted as fact.
But progressive action following Sunday morning’s calamitous incident resulted in the crucial crossing being reopened for trickle-feed traffic by Monday evening.
On Tuesday morning Wiggett confirmed that operations had been fully restored, despite several reports stating that, because Oshoek was still closed, Eswatini’s Ngwenya Border Post was also affected.
The government of Eswatini refuted this.
It is also understood that efforts to accommodate the road freight industry, which has been inconvenienced by recent events, included accepting trucks originally cleared for exit at the alternative SA-Botswana borders of Kopfontein and Skilpadshek.
These trucks will be allowed to reroute through Groblersbrug.
As of January 29, however, all departure and re-entry declarations must clearly state which border on the north-south line will be used.
