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Old Limpopo bridge to re-open soon

Date: 05 June 2009 By: Mashudu Netsianda

South Africa and Zimbabwe have agreed to reopen the Old Limpopo Bridge linking the two countries and implement the one-stop border post concept as a matter of urgency, in a bid to ease congestion at the busiest inland port of entry in sub-Saharan Africa ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

This emerged during a recent joint stakeholders meeting held at Tshipise Resort.

The Beit-Trust old Limpopo Bridge was closed to vehicular traffic soon after the opening of the new Limpopo toll bridge in 1995. The bridge was officially opened by the then president of South Africa, Mr Nelson Mandela, and his Zimbabwean counterpart, Mr Robert Mugabe. Currently, the old Limpopo Bridge is used by pedestrians and cyclists.

An immigration official who attended the meeting said among the issues discussed during the meeting was the quick implementation of the one-stop border concept in Beit Bridge, which would see local immigration and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) officials being sent to the South African side. If the one-stop border post concept is implemented, travelers from Zimbabwe would no longer need to stop until they reached the South African side, where both South African and Zimbabwean officials would serve them.

Similarly, travelers from South Africa would stop on the Zimbabwean side where officials from both countries would serve them. “We have no doubt that if these ideas are implemented at Beit Bridge border post, countries in the SADC region will economically prosper as an environment in which they can trade easily will have been created. In fact, goods exported from one country to another would also move freely,” said the official.

Stakeholders also raised the issue of re-opening the railway line linking Zimbabwe and South Africa, saying such a move would help decongest the border post as some cargo would be ferried by rail transport between the two countries.

“We have several commercial trucks passing through Beit Bridge border post every day and in most cases the trucks, carrying highly inflammable explosives, are parked in the same area with freighters in queues, which is very risky. So we are saying tankers containing such explosives can alternatively be transported by goods trains,” he said.

The meeting, which was attended by Zimbabwean and South African immigration and customs officials, clearing agents, high-profile Zimbabwean and South African government officials from various departments, the New Limpopo Bridge company officials and representatives from various cross-border transport associations, centered mainly on exploring ways aimed at decongesting the border post.

It is anticipated that the border will be a hive of activity during next year’s soccer World Cup in South Africa, as scores of soccer fans will pass through.
 
 
 

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Mashudu Netsianda

Mashudu Netsianda is our correspondent in Beit Bridge, Zimbabwe. He joined us in 2006, writing both local and international stories. He had worked for several Zimbabwean publications, as well as the Times of Swaziland. Mashudu received his training at the School of Mass Communication in Harare.

 
 

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