{"id":48662,"date":"2021-10-21T20:18:42","date_gmt":"2021-10-21T18:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/?p=48662"},"modified":"2021-10-21T20:06:58","modified_gmt":"2021-10-21T18:06:58","slug":"chaos-at-beitbridge-border-post-as-zimbabwe-introduces-new-tolls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/chaos-at-beitbridge-border-post-as-zimbabwe-introduces-new-tolls","title":{"rendered":"Chaos At Beitbridge Border Post As Zimbabwe Introduces New Tolls"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Zimbabwe<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>BusinessLIVE<\/b> – TRUCK drivers are spending up to 10 days at the Beitbridge border post as toll company Zimborders, which has been awarded a contract by the Zimbabwean government to upgrade the border post, began collecting toll fees.<\/p>\n

Zimborders expects to collect more than US$1bn (R14.43bn) over 17 years from toll fees before it hands over the upgraded border facility to the Zimbabwean government through a \u201cbuild, operate and transfer\u201d deal.<\/p>\n

With the first phase opened of the $300m (R4.33bn) upgrade, a freight terminal, and the new immigration building, it has been a torrid month for truckers.<\/p>\n

A notice shared with truckers and clearing agents by Zimborders reads that toll fees are for now accepted only in cash. Card payments will be allowed only at end-October.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease make sure your drivers have enough cash to pay for the toll fee. Credit cards and prepaid vouchers will not be available,\u201d reads the notice seen by Business Day.<\/p>\n

Adding to the logistical nightmare, payments can be made only at the Zimborders counter.<\/p>\n

With an average 1 000 trucks passing through Beitbridge daily, each paying $201, that translates to $73m annually \u2014 or $1.24bn over 17 years.<\/p>\n

Limpopo bridge<\/b><\/p>\n

The fees are for border use in both directions.<\/p>\n

In addition to toll fees, vehicles pay $23 to access the New Limpopo Bridge into Zimbabwe. That money is collected by the Zimbabwe National Road Authority (ZINARA).<\/p>\n

The new fees exceed the previous $100 toll fee and $9 road access flat fees paid by all vehicles in the past.<\/p>\n

Trucks registered in Zimbabwe are allowed to pay in local currency while foreign vehicles pay in US dollars.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hell, I tell you. One of us [truckers] was even robbed in the queue last week. We have nowhere to bathe, no toilets. Can you imagine 10 days in a queue stretching more than 10km?\u201d said truck driver Simbisai Nyoni.<\/p>\n

There are also fears that the situation could aggravate the Covid-19 situation in SA and Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n

Zimborders CEO Francois Diedrechsen said that things are improving.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt its worst, the queues northbound last Tuesday were at 10km and three lanes wide, with slow flow though at the border. This has now improved to mostly single-lane [small parts are still double-lane] queues of less than 8km and declining by the day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said matters deteriorated because the border was opened to general traffic, leading to high volumes, but curfew working hours are still in place.<\/p>\n

Road Freight Association CEO Gavin Kelly said on Wednesday that truck queues on the Zimbabwean side have been dealt with.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation already changed in the past 24 hours. The queues from Zimbabwe are gone,\u201d said Kelly. \u201cWe are trying to eradicate the SA-side queue today [Wednesday].\u201d<\/p>\n

Complicated matters<\/b><\/p>\n

But home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the Zimbabwean government is not playing ball.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe\u2019s decision to \u201ccharge people $200 and demanding the money in cash\u201d has complicated matters. \u201cAnd when you are doing renovations you make no space for parking, when you know that Beitbridge is not only a passage to Zimbabwe, it\u2019s a passage to the whole continent,\u201d said Motsoaledi.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been discussing the issue about automation forever. The newly renovated buildings have opened 75% of the place, which is new. But that newly renovated place is not automated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it doesn\u2019t matter how many trucks you process in SA, they can only take a particular number. At some stage they could only take 10 trucks per hour. That is quite terrible for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a team based there permanently, which is meeting [Zimbabwean] officials every single day. And every time they meet, they say, \u2018We are waiting for an answer from Harare\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. BusinessLIVE – TRUCK drivers are spending up to 10 days at the Beitbridge border post as toll company Zimborders, which has been awarded a contract by the Zimbabwean government to upgrade the border post, began collecting toll fees. Zimborders expects to collect more than US$1bn (R14.43bn) over 17 years from toll fees […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":48661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8,35,12,15],"tags":[1493,2189,19],"class_list":["post-48662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-policy","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-zimbabwe-2","tag-zimbabwe"],"yoast_head":"\nChaos At Beitbridge Border Post As Zimbabwe Introduces New Tolls - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"BusinessLIVE - TRUCK drivers are spending up to 10 days at the Beitbridge border post as toll company Zimborders, ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/chaos-at-beitbridge-border-post-as-zimbabwe-introduces-new-tolls\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chaos At Beitbridge Border Post As Zimbabwe Introduces New Tolls\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BusinessLIVE - 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