1,400 trucks or so are stuck on the Zambia-DRC border

A Zambian official told local media on Thursday that since officials in the neighboring country limited the amount of trucks that could be cleared each day, over 1,400 vehicles are delayed on the Zambian side of the Kasumbalesa border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

According to Precious Njekwa, the district commissioner of Chililabombwe in Copperbelt Province, the DRC government changed the daily truck clearance rate from 450 to 250, which caused traffic on the Zambian side.

On a different road that leads to the border, 1,700 more vehicles were parked, she informed the state-run Zambian National Broadcasting Corporation.

“Sad,” the person said, adding that while the problem was being handled, the government was trying to supply truck drivers with water and portable restrooms.

According to Osila Lundu, the manager of the Zambia Revenue Authority’s Kasumbalesa Border Station, the majority of the stalled trucks have been allowed to enter the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but some are still blocked on the Zambian side.

Truck drivers and the tax agency were under pressure, he added, due to the accumulation of trucks waiting for approval by DRC officials.