South Africa: Ndebele bemoans delays at border posts
28 March 2012
fin24 - March 27, 2012
Johannesburg - The government is concerned about delays and congestion at South African border posts, especially at Beitbridge, Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele said on Tuesday.
"The delays at the borders are caused by operational inefficiencies, which result in duplication in processes," Ndebele said in a speech prepared for delivery at the Freight Intra-Africa conference in Pretoria.
"This is a serious cost to the economies of the countries that conduct their trade through (the Beitbridge) border post, in particular."
Ndebele said cabinet is looking at establishing a mechanism which will bring border entities under a single command and control structure.
"The ultimate vision is to create one stop border operations to facilitate legitimate trade and travel across the borders."
The traditional design and layout of the border posts is part of the problem, he said.
"The road infrastructure at the border posts is designed in such a way that it serves a funnel, with narrow approaches which channel all types of traffic to a single lane.
"This is a serious constraint which hampers traffic circulation in and around the border posts," Ndebele said.
See also:
South Africa: Border Posts Infrastructure Must Be Improved - Ndebele on allAfrica.com
Category: Transport