Minister Dipuo Peters on cross border operations between RSA and Lesotho

Following the recent conflict and violent incidents between the Cross Border Road Transport Operators and the Free State Taxi Operators at Ports of entry in Free State, the Minister of Transport, Ms Dipuo Peters will be convening a meeting with a high delegation from the Free State Province as well as other stakeholders to discuss the RSA/Lesotho Cross Border Road Transport impasse.

From 02 till 04 January 2017, the Cross-Border Road Transport Operations from the Kingdom of Lesotho were hindered at Points of Entry in Free State Province as a result of the conflict between the Cross Border Operators from the Kingdom of Lesotho and the domestic Taxi Operators who are based in the Free State Province.

As a result, the Maseru Border Post was blocked, which made it difficult for people to move between the two countries. This was in direct contrast to the laws which govern the Cross-Border Road Transport between South Africa and the neighbouring countries. 

According to preliminary investigation, legitimate Cross Border Operators were prevented from conducting Cross Border Operations from the Kingdom of Lesotho into the Republic of South Africa. The standoff between the two operators resulted in the Border Post being blocked on 2, 3 and 4 January 2017. However, following the intervention by various Stakeholders and Law Enforcement Authorities, the Border Post was reopened.

The temporary closure of the Border Post inconvenienced the innocent commuters who relied on cross border road transport to reach their expected destinations. Moreover, the failure to facilitate normal cross border operations has a direct negative impact on commuters who depend on passenger transport to traverse between South Africa and neighbouring countries.

Furthermore, it is important for the affected parties to keep in mind that the Cross Border Passenger Operations between South Africa and the neighbouring countries are regulated by the Southern African Customs Union Memorandum of Understanding on Road Transportation (SACU MoU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Transport, Communications and Meteorology. 

The Department of Transport is aware of the on-going challenges and conflicts on the RSA / Lesotho corridor that negate the implementation of the SACU MoU and SADC Protocol.

The cross-border road transportation of passengers and goods is a vital input to key sectors of the economy and challenges such as the abovementioned conflict have a negative impact on the efficiency and competitiveness of South Africa’s economy as well as growth in the SADC region.

The South African Government is concerned about this and it is for this reason that Minister Dipuo Peters have been meeting with her counterpart Minister of Public Works and Transport from the Kingdom of Lesotho, Mr Mokeretla.

These engagements led to the establishment of a National Ministerial Task Team comprising officials from the Departments of Transport in both South Africa and Lesotho.

The task team has consulted various stakeholders in the Taxi industry and made recommendations to resolve the situation. However, all the efforts did not bear fruit because up until now, the cross border passenger operations between RSA and Lesotho are heavily affected by this on-going conflict.

We have a strong suspicion that some civil servants and especially Law Enforcement Officials in Free State and the Kingdom of Lesotho have an interest in the passenger transport industry. This is based on the noted laxity and selective manner with which they enforce transport related laws in the Province.

A meeting will be held with the Premier of Free State Province to discuss this impasse and find amicable solution to these challenges. We believe that this engagement will help address the challenges in Free State Province and curb this delinquency which has a potential of causing diplomatic tension between the Republic of South Africa and the Kingdom of Lesotho.

Enquiries:
Ishmael Mnisi
Cell: 072 566 0827

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