SEVERAL vehicles trying to use the Pedicle road were on Saturday marooned at Mokambo border post in Mufulira following introduction of new visa requirements by Congolese authorities that are demanding that every Zambian pays US$50 to use the road.
Many Zambians heading to Luapula Province have for many years used the 70-kilometre stretch, passing through the Democratic Republic Congo, which is the shorter route of getting to Mansa district.
The Zambian government is also constructing the famous Pedicle road from Mokambo border in Mufulira, passing through Congo DR up to Mansa.
But motorists and passengers on Saturday woke up to a rude shock when officers on the Congolese side closed the border, demanding that every Zambian passing through the Pedicle road pays US$50.
The officers claimed that the instructions were in line with the visa requirements that the Congolese government in Kinshasa had approved.
“The border is closed; Congolese are demanding a lot of money that we can’t afford. There is no way we can be paying US$50 each to use the Pedicle road, which our Zambian government is in fact constructing. People are stranded; trucks carrying goods that are supposed to get into Mansa are marooned, including the vehicles carrying newspapers from Zambia that are destined for Mansa,” said Jonathan Zimba, a motorist.
Officers talked to from the Zambian immigration department expressed shock at the conduct of their colleagues on the Congolese side.
“Vehicles were paying a minimal fee to get into Congo. It was raised suddenly to K30 by our colleagues on the Congolese side and now they are claiming that one must pay US$50. This is shocking,” one of the officers who declined to be named said in an interview.
Officers from the Copperbelt minister’s office and the Office of the President that rushed to Mokambo held a meeting with Congolese officials, whose outcome is is yet to be known.