Disorder, disdain and

Dirt at Beit Bridge border

THE BEIT Bridge border post is one of the busiest in Africa. A never-ending silent stream of humanity, carrying all sorts of goods, passes through it both ways all day long.

The drab, foreboding place is anything but a pleasant experience for a tired traveller, as our group of tourists found out on our New Year’s trip to Victoria Falls.

It’s a daunting task finding your way through the complex border post the first time as there are no directions or officials to guide the public.

There were two prefabs to cope with the large numbers during the Christmas holidays. But people had to queue outside with no protection from the sun and rain.

The Zimbabwean border control was worse than South Africa. We jostled in a small, crowded, smelly office with people jumping queues in the presence of security guards.

I fussed with a group sneaking in before us, but apparently they were turned away from the border as the date stamp had not been changed to this year.

The official who restamped the passports didn’t bother to apologise.

But it was the filthy toilets that some were forced to use that welcomed us to Robert Mugabe’s ruined land.

Crossing into Zambia, one immediately notices the contrast: the rundown, unkempt and dirty Zimbabwean border post and the clean, neat and air-conditioned Zambian offices.

But it was our return to the South African border post that tried our patience most and angered us.

There was no respect or consideration for women and the elderly. We had to disembark from the bus, walk some distance to the offices in the blazing sun, have our passports stamped, take out the luggage from the bus and stand around wondering.

Then we had to take the luggage to another building to be scanned. We thought it was over, but we had to wait again. Two officials lined us up like children and checked our passports before we climbed on to the bus one by one.

No one complains. I was told repeatedly to shut up or it would take longer. It took us an hour and a half to go through the border post.

No wonder some Zimbabweans prefer to run the gauntlet across the crocodile-infested Limpopo River.

I do understand the need for strict control at border posts, but Beit Bridge needs a shake-up.

There could be more order and efficiency. Couldn’t the officials be civil and courteous?

If he cares, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba should go as an ordinary citizen to Beit Bridge and observe the tamasha that goes on there. It’s a nightmare.

Durban