Mozambican transporters choose a “more expensive” route to South Africa for fear of attacks

Mozambican transporters making the Maputo-Durban route are resorting to a “much more expensive” alternative route to reach their destination in the face of attacks against vehicles in South Africa, they told Lusa today.

“We are using Essuatíni [former Swaziland] as an alternative way to reach Durban, but it is not an efficient way; it is much more expensive,” said Francisco Mandlate, secretary-general of the Association Mozambique, South Africa and Associates, which brings together carriers.

At issue are episodes registered in recent weeks in which at least six Mozambican vehicles, including a bus and a truck, were burned by assailants on the R22 road between Hluhluwe and Mbazwane in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal.

The stretch is about 90 kilometers from the border and is part of the connection used by several transporters between Maputo and Durban.

According to the association, the alternative route is much more costly and “bureaucratic”, implying that Mozambican vehicles travel 123 kilometers more to reach Durban.

The Ponta de Ouro route “was much more efficient,” he said.

In addition, through Essuatíni, “people are forced to cross many borders.”

“There are more stamps on the pages of passports,” Francisco Mandlate said, alluding to the procedures for entry and exit between the three countries, including some fees applied at the border.

Mozambican carriers are also complaining of a lack of passengers since the attacks.

“The number of passengers has reduced. Our cars are leaving here without passengers, and our business is going bankrupt,” warned Francisco Mandlate.

The Association Mozambique, South Africa, and Associates also recalled that this is not the first episode in which foreigners, including Mozambicans, are prevented from working in South Africa.

They demand, therefore, that the South African authorities apply measures to curb episodes that culminate in violence.

“That country has never definitively solved this type of problem. It is a brother country and, in its history with Mozambique, has always established the idea of mutual help,” only that Mozambicans have been “victims” without ever making “retaliations”, concluded Francisco Mandlate.

The attacks in recent weeks came after local communities in KwaZulu-Natal complained of several thefts of vehicles allegedly smuggled into Mozambique, which have gone unpunished.

Due to its regional economic stability, South Africa, the land of the rand (South African currency), is one of the countries that receive most immigrants from various African regions, but mainly from neighboring states, including Mozambique.

South Africa, the largest economy in the region, hosts more than two million Mozambicans working in mines, agricultural fields, and informal trade, according to the latest data advanced by the authorities.

With information from Jornal do Guardião