Mozambique: Truck drivers want Machipanda border open 24 hours a day

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Mozambique: Truck drivers want Machipanda border open 24 hours a day

8:16 CAT | 07 Jun 2021

in file CoM

Long distance truck drivers want the Machipanda border post in the central Mozambican province of Manica, between Mozambique and Zimbabwe, to open 24 hours a day, in order in order to fast-track the handling of commodities and ease the suffering the drivers usually go through.

Currently, the Machipanda border opens between 06.00 and 22.00, which poses constraints for drivers who want to proceed to other countries of the hinterland, ferrying commodities from the central Mozambican port of Beira. Similar complaints are raised by drivers crossing from the Zimbabwean side of the border into Mozambique.

Kenneth Mangwiro, a 52 year old Zimbabwean truck driver, who has often faced the nightmare on the Mozambican side of the border, especially at night, describes the situation as very sad.

“As we leave the port, we always think about the border where sometimes we spend two days before we can proceed. The very long queues stretch for up to seven kilometres and customs clearance has been very slow. When it is 22.00 the border closes till the next day,” Mangwiro said.

When truck drivers leave the port, he said, they drive as fast as they can in an attempt to reach the border as early as possible. This often results in road accidents as there are many vehicles on the move.

Benat Muzzio, a 46 year old truck driver resident in Zimbabwe, shares the same feeling and claims that the problems on the two sides of the border makes the trip even more expensive, as drivers have to pay for additional costs throughout the hours they are waiting to cross.

“We are exposed to every sort of risk. It is very complicated for us because we cannot sleep at night. As the queues can stretch up to seven kilometres, some of us park the loaded cargo trucks in less safe areas. We have to spend the nights at the look out, as the commodities can be vandalised,” he said.

However, if the border opened 24 hours a day, he believes “things would be much easier and a great step forward, as we would no longer spend one week or more on the trip, including the time spent in the port. We would just spend five days.”

The lorry drivers rate the road as among the best in the region, but the excessive red tape at the Machipanda border derails every effort they make. The situation is different at the Zambia-Malawi border where they claim to spend a few hours because of the high demand, but never two days or more waiting for clearance.

The delegate of the Mozambican Tax Authority (AT), Estrela Cossa, declared that the Mozambican authorities are open to negotiations with their Zimbabwean counterparts.

“We have begun some consultations and we believe that a solution will be found. It is a matter of diplomacy between the two countries. Recently, we had a visit by the Mozambican Transport Minister who was informed about the problem. We believe we will have an answer leading to the end of the drivers’ suffering”, she said.

She pointed out that the differences in the customs clearance system used by the two countries is the sole reason for the long delays.

“Mozambique has adopted a computerised clearance system, whereas the Zimbabwean side has not yet done so, causing long delays and compromising the necessary promptness to end congestion at the border,” she said, adding that the two sides are working to improve the situation.

Source: AIM