Trucks entering the Munhava area of Beira port in Mozambique have been warned there is a serious security problem there.

Barney Curtis, executive director at FESARTA (Federation of East and Southern African Road Transport Associations) says, “The Munhava access route is the only entrance used by trucks entering the port to load and offload.”

“This is an extremely high crime area with drivers being harassed by third parties while entering and departing the port. The road is in a poor condition and is congested so vehicles have to slow right down. The criminal elements gather in this area and stop the vehicles by engaging the rear axle park brake on the fuel tankers or jumping onto the vehicle itself. They then demand money from the drivers. Should the driver fail to pay over the cash, he is then pulled from the vehicle and beaten. The driver is then thrown under the truck while a member of the group enters the truck and steals the personal effects, radios, money, tools etc. from the vehicle. “

“If the drivers overnight within the Port, they are harassed by parties again. If the driver leaves the vehicle to submit documents, they enter the vehicle using duplicate keys. As you know, keys for trucks are not unique. “

The target of these attacks are predominately launched at foreign transporters.

ASTROS, the National Road Transport Association (NRTA) in Beira, has held meetings with the chief of Sofala province police, chief of nearest police station, CFM management in Sofala, Cornelder Management, Transport department of Sofala, and ultimately the Sofala Governor. The Governor has even opened a free telephone link to ASTROS. None of these initiatives have solved this problem.

According to Curtis, FESARTA has registered this complaint as a non-tariff barrier with the relevant government authorities to address.