Gokwe Diaspora Community Respond to the Phased Opening of Boarders 

Following yesterday Post Cabinet briefing that Boarders will be opened in phases, My Gokwe Media got an opportunity to have a chat with some of the Gokwe Diasporians to hear their feelings.

The Cabinet resolved that the opening of border posts will be phased, beginning with Beitbridge, Plumtree, Victoria Falls, Chirundu, Nyamapanda and Forbes. The borders will open first to private passenger vehicles and pedestrian traffic as from 1st December 2020.

Kirion Moyo is a South African based Gokwe resident. He claims that there are reports that the Second Wave of COVID-19 is deadly and South Africa is rumoured to be going back to phase 5, meaning lockdown.  So opening of the Boarder is a sign that the government is valuing money than life.

“I already sent my family home to resume farming and I will be here for the whole year. The government is prioritizing private cars to collect more money from the benefits coming with the festive season. There will be more private cars and pedestrians corresponding to more COVID-19 imported,” he said.

The sentiments relate to what Vhundukai said. The gate pass costs USD60, so the Cabinet decision to open the boarder is rather economic than anything else. So she is skeptical to the scheduled time.

“It’s true we all want to go home but why opening the boarder 1 December instead of now? What will have changed from now to 1 December? They are targeting the festive season and nothing else,” she explained.

Luxon is of the belief that the government is turning the whole festive season into a bloody season.

“They have phased the opening of the boarder but did they considee the trafic problem and improvent of the roads? They are rather increasing accountants at the border and on the tollgates. They already have a target. There are potholes, roads are not fensed and have turned out to be pastures and one needs extra care. The roads are not cleared, road sides are damaged, and half of the cars that will enter are going to sleep by their side.“

Some Gokwe Diasporians sees no effect in what the Cabinet resolved. They had been pedestrians in and out the boarder and they will continue doing so even after 1 December.

“What they have done is just formalising what we have been doing in the past. Maybe they did it for the slay ladies and celebrities who use passports to cross the border“, said Jealous.

Adding to what Jealous said, Amai Moyo thanked the government for coming out with this resolution. She acknowledged that they are boarder jumpers and added that now those who assist them are charging more because they are in high demand.

“A number of people are currently boarder jumping. So many people will revert back to the formal means. This means that those who assist us in crossing big rivers such as Limpopo will also revert back to normal charges to lure people back,” said Amai Moyo.

There are some who believes that the opening of the boarder is long overdue. They believe timing is more strategic and the border must be opened as late as yesterday.

They think opening the boarder right now would have been ideal to allow better flow. They think late opening will1 will cause unwarranted congestion with the holiday season around that time.

It’s up to the government to consider the concerns of the Diasporians

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