One of Africa’s busiest interior crossings, the one connecting South Africa with Zimbabwe, is being made more difficult by the country’s persistent power shortages.
Bloomberg reports that on Tuesday, the lines at Beitbridge, a crucial commercial and migratory corridor for southern Africa, were more than four kilometres long.
Every day, 25,000 migrants cross the South Africa-Zimbabwe border.
According to Nick Mangwana, Zimbabwe’s Secretary for Information and Publicity, the reason for the rolling blackouts was that “passports could not be scanned” due to the faltering national utility Eskom.
Even when operating well, the bridge across the crocodile-infested Limpopo river is infamous for its long lines.
According to the Zimbabwean authorities, over 25 000 individuals cross the border every day on average.
On September 21, load shedding in South Africa will resume.