Botswana’s primary transit link with South Africa, the Groblersburg Border Post, is facing significant congestion after the Limpopo River and other tributaries flooded in early March, causing the border to close.
As a result, cargo moving from South Africa to the Copperbelt through Botswana is being redirected to southern routes like Kopfontein, leading to extensive backlogs at a crossing critical for express logistics into Gaborone.
Over the weekend, video footage captured by a traveler showed westbound trucks stretching for kilometers on the R49, waiting to cross into Botswana.
On March 17, Kage Barnett of the Transit Assistance Bureau explained that while cargo processing at Groblersburg had recovered relatively quickly after earlier flooding, the current damage is much more severe. “They have to replace a lot of furniture and equipment.
Everything needed for customs processing at Groblersburg (GBR) has to be repaired or replaced, and this won’t happen overnight,” Barnett said.
He also noted that GBR officials have not specified when the border might reopen, advising the road freight industry to prepare for a prolonged delay.
Mike Fitzmaurice, regional vice president of the African Union’s Organisation for Transport and Logistics, confirmed that Groblersburg would likely remain closed until the end of March.
Persistent rain across the Highveld escarpment is further complicating cross-border transport, impacting those entering or transiting Botswana.
With long queues at Kopfontein, transporters are shifting cargo even further south to the N4 route into Botswana, adding to congestion at South Africa’s Skilpadshek Border Post on the Trans-Kalahari Corridor (TKC).
Although no specific updates have been given on the TKC situation, transporters are likely avoiding the N4 near the Botswana border due to service delivery protests near Zeerust. These disruptions could worsen bottlenecking at Kopfontein.
Long-distance carriers serving clients in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are considering alternative routes through Zimbabwe, despite ongoing issues with duties and limited support from the Zimbabwean Revenue Authority and South Africa’s Cross-border Road Transport Agency, especially for fuel carriers.
A clearing agent managing in-transit processes from South Africa to the Copperbelt expressed frustration at the lack of contingency plans for Groblersburg. “To have digitized efficiencies is one thing, but what if everything goes down or physically washes away? We’ve seen it happen before.
Perhaps it’s time to rethink our over-reliance on computerized clearing and reintroduce manual flexibility,” said the agent, who requested anonymity. “It causes major disruption when a border like Groblersburg closes, and there are no backup processes.”
Lesley Mpofu, leader of the TKC Secretariat, raised concerns about Groblersburg’s narrow bridge, highlighting the need for its upgrade.
Following the opening of the Kazungula Bridge in 2021, he pointed out that while Kazungula had effectively replaced the old ferry system, Groblersburg remained an outdated bottleneck on the route to Zambia and the DRC.
After the first flooding of the Limpopo earlier this year, Fitzmaurice stressed the importance of relocating customs facilities further from the border.
This move, he argued, would allow for faster resumption of cargo clearance once river levels subsided and the bridge reopened.
