Mozambique: Consulate in S Africa warns against crossing at Ressano-Lebombo border

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Mozambique: Consulate in S Africa warns against crossing at Ressano-Lebombo border

10:36 CAT | 05 Jul 2023

in file CoM

Mozambique’s consulate in the South African town of Mbombela (formerly Nelspruit) has recommended that citizens cross into South Africa via the Ressano Garcia border post only in cases of extreme necessity, due to the dire security situation prevailing with traffic chaos involving lorries at the border.

“Nationals should only travel to South Africa to deal with extremely high-priority issues, until there are security guarantees from the South African authorities, not only near the Lebombo border, but also in the city of Mbombela (Nelspruit), where there has also been a considerable increase in the number of assaults on Mozambicans,” reads a statement issued by the consulate in Mbombela, which is just over 200 kilometres from Maputo.

At issue are failings on the part of border services in South Africa that have resulted in kilometres-long queues of heavy goods vehicles at the Komatipoort-Ressano Garcia crossing with Mozambique – a situation that has resulted in an uptick in cases of robbery in the region, according to the authorities in Mozambique.

“The average waiting time, which was a maximum of five hours at the beginning of 2023, is currently 60 hours on the South African side of the border, in a simple crossing that is not supposed to take so many hours of waiting,” the statement says. “Both the South African and Mozambican authorities warn that people should pay attention to security measures when they are in South African territory and they particularly emphasise that night journeys should be avoided.”

The authorities in South Africa have announced interventions in the registration system on the main crossing between the two countries, 100 kilometres from Maputo and 450 from Johannesburg, which has led to stoppages several times in recent weeks.

According to Mozambique’s consulate in Mbombela, the situation is due to a sharp increase in the flow of lorries recorded in the last two years, to the current figure of about 2,000 per day, compared to an average of 600 per day in previous years.

“On the other hand, Mozambique’s customs management system is not connected to the South African one, which makes the process of clearing trucks even slower, a situation that could also be resolved by making the one-stop operational,” the note adds.

The congestion at times extends for more than five kilometres, with heavy vehicles sometimes occupying two lanes of the road, making traffic difficult for light vehicles as well.

Source: Lusa