Swaziland November 2006 |
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| Informal border posts, (Time of Swaziland, 2006-11-05):-The Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force is operating informal “border posts” where goods worth hundreds of thousands, possibly contraband, flow freely and free of customs duty. The informal crossing, where the ill regulated flow of goods is rife, is located at the foot of the Lubombo Mountain, in the Southwestern part of the country. The crossing points were initially opened for the movement of people who live in areas close to the boundary. “Some of the people living on the Swazi side have homesteads separated by the boundary, but they maintain constant communication, such as those from the Mngomezulu and Myeni clans. Some come to the country to buy groceries and return to South Africa on the same day,” said Army Spokesman Captain Khanya Dlamini. He said the local communities, with the consent of government, found it necessary to create guarded crossing points for these residents, for there are those who find it difficult to use the Lavumisa border as an entrance or exit when going to areas near the Lubombo mountain or shopping in Swaziland. The Times SUNDAY team visited two out of the three crossing points this week and were met with hostility from the army personnel found on duty. The points, which all have a permanent army camp, are located at Mahlabaneni, Gamula and KaMatsenjwa areas respectively. At the Mahlabaneni crossing point, a truck from a nearby retail chain store was found offloading passengers and goods on Wednesday, which is one of the busiest days due to free transport being provided. Even the soldiers use this form of transport. The goods are later loaded on the backs of their donkeys, before climbing the steep mountain. Thomas Mbatha, one of the residents from Manyiseni, said he constructed the three-bedroom modern house using some material that had been bought at Matata and Nsoko. “I even bought the furniture at Matata. I asked some of the boys from my area to help me climb the mountains with all these items. When we get to the top of the mountain we then hire vehicles to ferry us to our homes,” he said. Mbatha was found seated under a tree at the foot of the mountain, apparently exhausted from a one hour walk down the enormous mountain, on a 38 degrees sunny Wednesday. “Shopping centres are very far when you live at Phongola. We have to pay E18 to get to the nearest town. Therefore we depend on Swaziland for a lot of things because we just have to walk down the mountain, then get free transport to Matata,” said 18-year-old Lwazi Mamba, a South African student from Mjelewane High School, located near the boundary. According to the procedure used when crossing, residents are required to register their names with the army officers, but there is no way of verifying authenticity of people’s identities because travelling documents are not a requirement. At Mahlabaneni, only one army officer was found on guard and he did not bother any of the crossing people, as they passed through the base and headed for the mountain. Attempts to take photographs were futile, as officers insisted that our camera would not leave the base in one piece. They further said only the headquarters and the Mbutfu Army Barracks were mandated to allow journalists near a border. They refused to state whether or not they carefully scrutinise goods coming in and going out. However, the army spokesman said members deployed at the boundary were well enlightened on the type of goods that can pass through the crossing points. “They are well aware that some goods have to be referred to the Lavumisa border,” he said. | |
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp |