Mozambique: Road travel to South Africa in extreme urgency cases only, authorities recommend – O País

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Mozambique: Road travel to South Africa in extreme urgency cases only, authorities recommend – O País

2:06 CAT | 03 Jul 2023

File photo: O País

The Mozambican consulate in Nelspruit is recommending that Mozambicans travel to South Africa only in cases of extreme urgency, in response to recurrent attacks facilitated by congestion near the border at Lebombo.

A team from the Mozambican embassy in South Africa visited the border crossing at Lebombo, on the South African side, and Ressano Garcia, on the Mozambican side, after Mozambicans began to appear among the victims of robberies in the lines of those waiting at the border crossing.

Following the visit led by the High Commissioner of the Republic of Mozambique in South Africa, Maria Manuela Lucas, the Consulate of Mozambique in the South African city of Nelspruit in Mpumalanga province produced a report, which ‘O País’ had access to, which contains explanations and recommendations on the issue.

The authorities heard that the congestion is caused by the increase, in the last two years, in the number of trucks crossing the two border posts from about 600 to around 2,000 a day.

But 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 with the operation of the single stop”.

Aside from the economic consequences of the problem for both countries, the consulate is also concerned about the recurrent robberies near the Lebombo border, which include Mozambicans among their victims.

This finally led the consulate to recommend travel to and from South Africa only to deal with high priority issues, until the South African authorities can guarantee security not only near the border, but also in Mbombela (Nelspruit), where the number of robberies targeting Mozambicans has also increased.

If travel is unavoidable, the consulate recommends various times to make the crossing. “They should prioritise the period between 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. […], since there is a significant reduction in vehicle traffic, mainly of public passenger transport and cargo trucks, which normally make crossings in the early hours of the morning and at the end of the day,” the document advises.

Source: O País