Government is considering opening the Beitbridge border only for smaller vehicles to reduce the traffic at the border post and open for public transportation after the festive season.
Speaking during a tour at Beitbridge boarder post, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) shift manager Mr Jericho Rundogo said current civil works to upgrade the border had left them with limited space to operate, prompting the need to open for private cars.
“Currently, we are using private cars and bus lanes to clear commercial cargo. Imagine what will happen if we open full scale? So our proposal is, let’s have small or private cars which are easy to manage to come through and we look at public transport after the festive season to avoid chaos,” he said.
Only commercial cargo, diplomats on Government business and returning residents are presently allowed free passage.
Meanwhile, immigration officer in charge of Beitbridge, Mr Nqobile Ncube, said there is already chaos at the border commercial trucks coming from South Africa hence the need to be cautious.
“It is only prudent to go with the phased route considering the current state of affairs here, where we are battling with commercial trucks with South Africa having re-opened their borders.
“You will note that in 2019, we cleared 5,3 million people at this border, with 14 000 passing daily, and we could have more people if we open at full throttle considering that people have not been moving for over six months.”
Zimbabwe had closed borders in March this year to curb the spread of corona virus.
