Kazungula cuts transit time by 40 percent - Fitzmaurice

North- South corridor let down by delay at Grobler’s bridge/ Martin’s Drift border

Mike Fitzmaurice, Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of East and Southern African Road Transport Associations ( FESARTA) says transit times at Kazungula and One Stop Border Post ( OSBP) have gone down from an average 40 to 22 hours in one week.

Not only is Fitzmaurice CEO of FESARTA, but he is also a trusted and reputable transport and OSBP consultant who among others, use tracking devices for trucks in most borders and continental routes.

In an interview with this publication Fitzmaurice said he has access to GPS tracking data all over the region and he monitors on a weekly basis, and makes update analysis of trucks crossing at a particular border post.

“I use time frames to analyse whether the borders are getting better or worse at any given time and the reasons why. I also monitor traffic from various countries for any delays and keep track of trucks that belong to FESARTA as part of my work”.

He said transporters are happy to continue using the Kazungula route because it is more reliable, but of course there is a cost to pay the tolls, but it has to be paid as it gives a better service.

He echoed the view that efficient as the corridor is, it can still be improved especially at Grobler’s/ Martin’s Drift which has a single lane bridge and goods movement is limited to how many trucks can pass in a day.

He warned that this could become an impediment if something is not done about upgrading the border post to a One Stop Border Post. Based on his monitoring, statistics shows that the movement on the North- South Corridor is operating quite speedily at the moment at Kasumbalesa border between Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia as compared to Grobler’s bridge.

Freight News reported that the OSBP at Kazungula is a vast improvement on what it used to be when trucks and other vehicles were forced to use pontoons, often waiting for days to get across.

Delays, especially during last year’s corona virus outbreak and subsequent disruptions on either side of the Zambezi River, were further exacerbated by Monsoon- like rain earlier this year.

With at least one if not two of the three pontoons frequently broken down, the rush to make up for lost time often resulted in trucks slipping off the ageing ferries. Late last year and less than a week apart, the Southern African cross- border road freight industry suffered serious losses when two trucks, one going north and another south, slipped off their pontoons.

Now, with the bridge finally open and operating smoothly with relatively few teething issues, one of the region’s most notorious border crossings has been wholly transformed.

“It’s still a long way off the expectation of three hours, which is what’s achieved in East Africa,” Fitzmaurice said, adding that Fesarta will be monitoring the performance of OSBPs on an ongoing basis as well as traffic volume statistics for Kazungula, and give regular updates.