By Albert Gaadzikwa
Zimbabwe truck drivers are full of praise for Chirundu border post for the efficient and professional service delivered by the staff.
According to Mr Mandizera who has been a truck driver for 24years, Chirundu has a one stop facility where all ones goods are cleared on one side and one rarely spends a day waiting for clearance. However delays occur when the goods need scanning.
Beitbridge comes second after Chirundu in that when one wants to beat time they have to fax or email their documents earlier.
On the Kazungula Zambian side one should be prepared to spend two days to a week waiting for the ferry because there is no bridge across the Zambezi river.
Life is unbearable during the wait especially at night ,the area does not have public toilets while on the other side Kazungula Botswana is a den of lions.
In the event of a breakdown between 1800hrs and 0600hrs people are not allowed to get out of the car, game rangers always come to the rescue.
Asked about other challenges faced by drivers Mr Mandizera recalls staying at Tundume border post i.e. between Zambia and Tanzania for 30days when their customer failed to pay customs duty. The customer contracted and developed a running stomach during this incident.
Financially the customer was down, assistance in the form of cash arrived after a number of agonizing days. I once went to the DRC where I recall one road which was in a terrible state, this road is between Likasi and Fungulume a distance of 100km but I spent 6 to7hrs driving” said Mandizera.
The road has since been upgraded and now motorists can take one hour on the road.
Mandizera travels as far as Kenya and encountered similar experiences with lions in a place called Mikumi.
With all these challenges truck drivers are always behind time.
Truck drivers are involved in road accidents caused fatigue due to long distance travel. Most of the time they want to beat the time after encountering delays.
Most of them force themselves because they want to meet set targets. As a result most companies limit their cars, with some pulling off from highways at 1800hrs and others at 2200hrs.
The Beitbridge Harare highway is feared by most drivers because its narrow and there are a lot of stray donkeys and cattle along the way. It is very dangerous to drive on this route in the night.
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