The Road Freight Association (RFA) has called on the leadership of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to urgently intervene in the crisis in Mozambique as millions of rands are lost and agricultural products are unable to enter the country because of post-election protests.
Chief executive officer of the association, Gavin Kelly, said there is a need for regional leadership to help Mozambique to be stable again.
“We need this to be resolved quickly. The state of affairs in Mozambique is affecting not only Mozambique people but [also] South Africa and the SADC, especially those who are using the Port of Maputo to import or export.
“It is costing the logistics industry roughly R10 million a day and that is just in terms of transport businesses. What this is doing to businesses and jobs will probably be calculated later,” he said.
Millions lost in border closure
Kelly said agriculture is not excluded in the crisis as the products cannot cross the border, making them even more fragile.
“The remaining R4 million a day is lost in other sectors including servicing, manufacturing, tourism, retail, mining and agriculture some of which have more reliance on road freight transport than others.”
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“Our drivers, our trucks, our customers’ cargo, the business image of thousands of African businesses are all threatened day after day. Drivers are beaten and they have nothing to do with the political landscape in Mozambique. Trucks are looted, burnt, roads to the Port of Maputo blockaded and the very port itself placed under siege,” he said.
Minister of transport Barbara Creecy said they have received reports of the border closure which had resulted in trucks queuing on the South African side. Creecy said the queue reached distances of more than 20 kilometres and this brought other challenges.
“This means that the Mozambiquan authorities opened the border to allow returning empty trucks and for passenger vehicles to leave that country.
“Our country’s border authorities are in touch with their Mozambiquan counterparts who will advise when it is safe for freight vehicles to cross the border. This situation has happened on a number of occasions in recent times. We plead for patience from the truck drivers who are having to stomach a very frustrating situation and spend long hours on the road,” she said.
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