Truck driver Sipho Makubule arrived at the Lebombo border on Sunday last week.
When our team of reporters caught up with him, he had been stuck in his truck for four days. His feet were swollen. He had no food or water. Needing to see a doctor, his only option was to jump a snaking queue of trucks, up to 40km long,each desperate to make it through the border. But he can’t.
The situation at the border post is desperate. Tensions are running high and opportunistic criminals have brought a heightened level of fear among drivers who are more vulnerable.
As the crisis continues, there appears to be no visible end insight. The border management has been battling increasing volumes since the Covid-19 lockdown was lifted.
More recently, trucks diverted from KZN due to similar congestion at the Richards Bay and Durban ports have added to the volumes going through Komati-poort border post, commissioner Stephen van Neel says.
The longer they wait, the slower the wheels of trade grind and the more vulnerable our economy becomes. Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Richards Bay to assess the state of the port and work done to relieve congestion.
The volume of trucks arriving at that port are in part because of the failures of our rail system. Ramaphosa says Transnet plans to ramp up its operations by bringing four additional locomotives by the end of this month.
It also plans to increase the length of its trains to 50 wagons and bring back a conveyor belt att he Richards Bay Dry Bulk Terminal by next month. The ongoing congestion at different parts of our logistics ecosystem demonstrates how intertwined parts of our economy are and how the ripple effects of bad management affect important nodes of our infrastructure.
The domino effect on companies, the trading environment, various sectors and, ultimately, households, is enormous. As a nation, we cannot afford any more man-made threats to our already weakened economy, be it out of negligence or mismanagement. The devastation of the power crisis is well documented. A logistics chaos on top of that, if not urgently managed, can only mean further catastrophe.
SOWETAN | Economy can't afford ports chaos
Image: Thulani Mbele
Truck driver Sipho Makubule arrived at the Lebombo border on Sunday last week.
When our team of reporters caught up with him, he had been stuck in his truck for four days. His feet were swollen. He had no food or water. Needing to see a doctor, his only option was to jump a snaking queue of trucks, up to 40km long,each desperate to make it through the border. But he can’t.
The situation at the border post is desperate. Tensions are running high and opportunistic criminals have brought a heightened level of fear among drivers who are more vulnerable.
As the crisis continues, there appears to be no visible end insight. The border management has been battling increasing volumes since the Covid-19 lockdown was lifted.
More recently, trucks diverted from KZN due to similar congestion at the Richards Bay and Durban ports have added to the volumes going through Komati-poort border post, commissioner Stephen van Neel says.
The longer they wait, the slower the wheels of trade grind and the more vulnerable our economy becomes. Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Richards Bay to assess the state of the port and work done to relieve congestion.
The volume of trucks arriving at that port are in part because of the failures of our rail system. Ramaphosa says Transnet plans to ramp up its operations by bringing four additional locomotives by the end of this month.
It also plans to increase the length of its trains to 50 wagons and bring back a conveyor belt att he Richards Bay Dry Bulk Terminal by next month. The ongoing congestion at different parts of our logistics ecosystem demonstrates how intertwined parts of our economy are and how the ripple effects of bad management affect important nodes of our infrastructure.
The domino effect on companies, the trading environment, various sectors and, ultimately, households, is enormous. As a nation, we cannot afford any more man-made threats to our already weakened economy, be it out of negligence or mismanagement. The devastation of the power crisis is well documented. A logistics chaos on top of that, if not urgently managed, can only mean further catastrophe.
Truckers tell of hunger, fear of attacks, robberies
Transport firms count delays cost
BMA blames increased truck volumes for congestion at Lebombo border
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