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By African News Agency 
2h ago
Durban – A crisis looms on the Beitbridge border, after four truckers were killed while many queued in long lines as congestion worsened.
This is according to Chief Executive Gavin Kelly of The Road Freight Association (RFA), who said four truckers were killed while many others were left without food, water and medicine at the Beitbridge border.
Kelly said the cost of these delays to the trucking industry is prohibitive.
“Four drivers have already died, while many more languish without food, water and medicine on which they depend.
“In addition, there are reports of drivers attacked and robbed while they were in the queue. The delays have cost the trucking industry at least R35 million in direct additional costs, and customer costs at least double. Over the past month at various border crossings, delays have resulted in costs of at least R770 million.
“This latest crisis has jeopardized trade with Africa, South Africa’s growing export market for goods in the last decade. The government must act quickly if the humanitarian and business catastrophe is to be avoided, and more importantly, to prevent it from happening again, ”Kelly said.
The cause surrounding the deaths remains unclear, but the deaths are assumed to be related to delays at the border.
Following reports of numerous people trapped at the border post for several days due to a traffic jam, Parliament’s home affairs portfolio committee has been asked to intervene.
The committee chairman, defender Bongani Bongo, on Thursday called for an urgent intervention at the border post where there was a queue of trucks and travelers stretching a few kilometers at the Beitbridge border post between Limpopo and Zimbabwe.
Bumper-to-bumper traffic in Beitbridge, according to Bongo, is the result of “strict” health checks put in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
South Africa’s cumulative Covid-19 positive case count rose to 954,258 on Wednesday, with 14,046 new cases since the last count. The death toll is 25,657.
“All provinces, with the exception of the Eastern Cape, continue to report increases in their cases, with KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Gauteng province registering the largest increases and comprising 81% of new cases today ( 30%, 28% and 23% respectively), ”the Health Department said Wednesday.
Truckers who have spent days at the post said they have been forced to fend for themselves while waiting to be examined and have become the target of numerous robberies.
The secretary of the Foundation for All Truck Drivers in Gauteng, Mandla Mngomezulu, said that in the span of a week he learned of 10 incidents in which drivers had their cell phones and clothing stolen at night.
Mngomezulu said he spent five days at the border post last week, which was largely due to conducting a search.
African News Agency (ANA)
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