By Andiswa Maqutu
LONG queues are forming at SA’s busiest land border post at Beitbridge as the Department of Health has sent only one scanner to screen visitors for Ebola.
The department says it will not compromise on its Ebola surveillance, despite the fact that Zimbabwe has not reported a single case of the disease. But the border is not a high-risk region and it will not be increasing the number of scanners, even to improve efficiency.
High-risk regions are Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, which receive travellers coming from further afield who could have been exposed to the virus.
OR Tambo International Airport is particularly high risk, necessitating closer surveillance. But no incidents of Ebola have been reported there as yet, according to the department’s spokesman, Joe Maila.
He maintained that screening for Ebola was not the only cause of delays at the Beitbridge border post, saying they were to be expected during the festive season.
“In December (delays) happen. Our main aim with the scanner is not to delay, but the issue is the virus coming into the country. We cannot compromise on that.” Travellers would have to be patient.
Holiday makers across the country are travelling to leisure destinations and to visit family and friends for the festive season. Mid-December is the busiest time of the year in terms of numbers of people travelling, according to airlines.
About 3,900 vehicles per day have been cleared at Beitbridge over the past three days, from an average of 2,200 vehicles in both directions, according to a source at the border who did not want to be named. To ease congestion at the post, SA has opened another route which separates cars and trucks entering the border compound.
However, further delays have been blamed on the Ebola scanner, which can only screen one person at a time.
It has been argued screening for Ebola is not effective in detecting the disease since the virus’s incubation takes nine days, during which a carrier of the disease may successfully go past a scanner.
But Mr Maila says, “It (screening) is one of the best ways to check whether people have symptoms”.
On Monday Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba visited the Beitbridge border post to assess its readiness for the annual upsurge in festive season traveller traffic. As in previous years, officials working at the border post raised concern about the need to increase the number of staff to speed up the movement of goods and people.
There were also concerns about inadequate infrastructure Department of Home Affairs spokesman Mayihlome Tshwete said. Facilities at the post, particularly on the Zimbabwean side, have long been described as grossly inadequate, with holiday travellers frequently being stuck there for hours, often having to endure the blazing sun.
SA has increased the number of officials on its side of the border, Mr Tshwete said and Mr Gigaba is looking into improving infrastructure at the border.
“Beitbridge is the busiest port after OR Tambo International Airport and the busiest land port. But it does not speak to that in terms of infrastructure,” said Mr Tshwete.
Last month, the main warehouse on the Zimbabwean side went up in flames, destroying confiscated goods and goods for which duties still had to be paid. The source of the fire was unknown. Plans to revamp the entire border complex are at the drawing stage.
Increases in personnel had been effected at SA’s other ports of entry, according to Mr Tshwete. Operating hours had also been extended at ports of entry in Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal for the festive season. Business Day Live
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