Extended Service Hours At Borders to Accommodate Traffic Flow.
In a joint endeavour to ease congestion at the county's borders, the department of home affairs and its Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland and Mozambican counterparts have agreed to extend service hours to accommodate increased traffic over the festive season.
The move comes as borders continue to experience an increased annual outflow and inflow of thousands of travelers, resulting in a peak in traffic at ports of entry adjacent to the neighbouring countries.
Addressing the media in Pretoria this morning, home affairs spokesperson Apollo Gopolang said it was understandable that border traffic would be at its peak during the festive period, saying the extension of hours would render services manageable.
He urged travelers to use the improved measures to plan their trips.
'Travelers are requested to plan their journeys with due consideration of these extended hours to avoid peak hours, thus minimising discomfort and long waiting periods at the busiest ports of entry,' he advised.
He said the busiest borders included Beit Bridge in Limpopo and Lebombo in Mpumalanga.
Operation hours have been extended at the Lebombo, Mahamba, Oshoek and Mananga borders.
At the Lebombo border, services will be rendered around the clock until 10 January while at Mananga, services will be rendered until 22h00 this evening.
Furthermore, the home affairs department has deployed more personnel at these borders and has also enlisted the services of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the South African Revenue Services (SARS).
'The department is committed to rendering an effective service at the ports of entry and will continue to redouble its efforts to prevent any foreseeable problems,' Mr Gopolang affirmed.
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06 Janvier 2003 à 13:55 dans
- zsandf (anglais)
