By Ray Ndlovu
The busiest border crossing in southern Africa will experience six weeks of significant delays as an upgrade begins.
The Beitbridge crossing straddles South Africa and Zimbabwe and is an important access point for the Democratic Republic of Congo. The border point has been closed to non-commercial traffic since January to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
There will be “significant congestion and delays” for the next six weeks due to construction work, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority said Sunday in a statement. North-bound traffic will be most affected.
On average about 25,000 people pass through Beitbridge daily, according to Zimbabwean officials. Lenders including Standard Bank Group Ltd. and FirstRand Ltd. provided $130 million of loans for the upgrade.
A household survey commissioned by Caribbean governments in April 2020 to explore the impact of the pandemic on regional food security revealed that global border closures increased barriers to food security by augmenting food prices and decreasing income and employment levels. The survey data also revealed that more than half of all respondents experienced income or job loss.
The impact of international border closures on food security
Tourism supports a large percentage of economic activity in the Caribbean. International border closures, which prompted the near-total shutdown of air and cruise travel to curb the spread of COVID-19, dealt a catastrophic blow to the Caribbean’s tourism industry.