More than 26 000 travellers have been processed at the Lebombo Border Post between Mpumalanga and Mozambique since Tuesday, with numbers expected to rise further this Wednesday as travellers and Mozambican migrant workers rush home ahead of Christmas Day.
Border Management Authority (BMA) Commissioner Michael Masiapato says 30 additional BMA staff members have been deployed across four processing points to help manage the increased traffic and ease congestion at the busy crossing.
However, Masiapato has raised concerns about the behaviour of some travellers, saying non-cooperation is worsening delays despite increased law enforcement support at the border.
“One of the challenges that we always talk about, particularly at Lebombo unfortunately is a bit of non-cooperation from the travellers. You will be able to see that even on the corridor. We try our best working together with the police, working together with the traffic authorities. On Tuesday, we even requested members of the South African National Defence Force to assist us in terms of corridor management. But still, people will want to jump the queue even in terms of the cars and ultimately create congestion. We keep on undoing the congestion, they keep bringing it back.”
Masiapato has urged travellers to co-operate with officials and follow queue procedures to ensure smoother movement and reduce congestion during the festive travel peak.
–SABC–
