Some report back on the Chirundu situation by an operator:

“We travelled through the border on Sunday afternoon and the situation was chaotic.  The queue extended for approx. 4.8km from the Customs Gate out of town past what is known as the RAM Fuel Facility.  There were also vehicles parked on the side of the roads and in depots.  Police were patrolling the road trying to bring about order, but with little success.  Most drivers were taking 48 hours to cross the border. A rough count was of in excess of 300 vehicles queuing to enter the Zimbabwe Customs Area.  This excludes the congestion in the Customs area.

We came through Chirundu against yesterday at approx. 1400 to a much changed situation.  The queue had gone and it was possible for the vehicles to drive straight into the Zimbabwe Customs yard with same day clearance to the Zambian side. There were approx. 100 vehicles, majority flat deck and abnormal loads parked off the road, awaiting clearance. There were no petroleum tankers amongst this group of delayed vehicles.

The speed at which the bottle neck was cleared can be illustrated by the fact that the Zambian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Depot was flooded by the arrival of over 70 Petroleum Tankers on the same day.

Whilst we are pleased to see the border cleared, it remains concerning why the bottleneck occurred in the first place, why it was allowed to develop into such proportions and why it took outside intervention to get the situation remedied.  We need to put an end to the inefficiencies of the border and move on to other challenges.  It is of no use if in a week or month time, the situation deteriorates and we have to address again.

We would like to convey our appreciation to the members involved and confirm our support to your efforts”.