Border officials at Beitbridge just fired up a joint traffic system between Zimbabwe and South Africa to handle the holiday chaos until mid-January. The crossing is basically the busiest land port in sub-Saharan Africa, and it gets slammed when half a million people roll through during the festive season. Zimbabwe dropped $300 million on upgrades that separated trucks, buses, cars, and foot traffic into different terminals, but the South African side is still outdated and causing backups.
Immigration boss Joshua Chibundu said they canceled all time off and beefed up staff numbers. He warned travelers to stop using sketchy agents who claim they can help because the department handles everything directly. Zimra boss Regina Chinamasa mentioned that Beitbridge, Forbes, and Chirundu are running 24/7, and drivers can use the e-TIP system to pre-clear their vehicles online before showing up.
The integrated system coordinates both countries through shared planning and traffic control, which should prevent the usual bottlenecks from spiraling out of control during peak travel.
Immigration boss Joshua Chibundu said they canceled all time off and beefed up staff numbers. He warned travelers to stop using sketchy agents who claim they can help because the department handles everything directly. Zimra boss Regina Chinamasa mentioned that Beitbridge, Forbes, and Chirundu are running 24/7, and drivers can use the e-TIP system to pre-clear their vehicles online before showing up.
The integrated system coordinates both countries through shared planning and traffic control, which should prevent the usual bottlenecks from spiraling out of control during peak travel.
