FEAR INTENSIFIES: ONLY 4 TRUCKS CROSS TO SA

MBABANE - Fear has gripped Eswatini truck drivers as they parked their vehicles at the border Gate for the better part of yesterday.

About 20 trucks were parked at the border as drivers feared crossing the Oshoek border Gate to South Africa. This comes after the SA truck drivers sent a warning that they would not allow foreign truck drivers into the republic. Information gathered from a source was that there were only four trucks that went through the border between Sunday and yesterday. He said that in a day, especially month end, about 50 trucks travelled to South Africa and same number normally entered the country to deliver.

Clearing agencies at the border also attested to the fact that truck drivers feared the wars going on at the other side of the border. The agencies said they were being called by their clients asking if the situation was extremely bad for delivery and if there were alternative routes to use.   A man who identified himself as Celumusa, working for one of the agencies, said he was communicating with his customers who were asking him about the situation.  “What I got from one of the drivers was that the situation was not good, especially in Witbank,” he said.
Other agencies confirmed to this reporter that no truck was cleared in the past two days. “There has not been any truck that I’ve cleared since yesterday (Sunday),” said one of the agency employees.

Burnt

The protest that started on Sunday has already seen some trucks being burnt down while other drivers’ keys forcefully taken from them. Other trucks are being shot at. According to the Citizens, N2 at Mew Way was closed for traffic due to a truck blocking the highway in the direction of Cape Town. Social media was also abuzz yesterday with videos of the ongoing protests, showing trucks parked on the road while drivers were singing struggle songs. One of the videos shows a queue of trucks parked on the road, covering a distance of about 10km with no movement whatsoever. Reports revealed that about seven trucks were burnt around South Africa from Sunday.

Some of them were said to be burnt in Durban while others were burnt in Witbank. Timeslive also reported about a Zimbabwean driver who was hospitalised after a truck he was sleeping in was petrol-bombed on Sunday. 

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