Businesses in the Limpopo border town of Musina are experiencing a sharp decline in trade, with some reducing operations or closing altogether as anti-migrant tensions and a fall in cross-border shoppers continue to affect the local economy.
For decades, Musina’s economy has relied heavily on shoppers from neighbouring Zimbabwe and other Southern African countries who crossed through the Beitbridge Border Post to buy groceries, furniture, building materials, clothing, electronics and vehicle parts.
Their spending has also supported restaurants, accommodation providers, transport operators and numerous other businesses across the town.
However, recent anti-migrant protests and heightened tensions surrounding migration have contributed to a noticeable decline in cross-border shopping, leaving many businesses struggling to remain viable.
Traders have reported significant falls in sales, while some shops have reduced trading hours, temporarily suspended operations or closed permanently as customer numbers continue to decline.
Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono said the downturn highlights the critical role cross-border trade has long played in Musina’s economy.
“The closed shops in this video are more than closed businesses. They are a reminder that economies, especially in border towns, do not recognise political slogans. They survive on people, trade and movement,” he wrote on X.
Chin’ono said Zimbabwean shoppers have made a significant contribution to Musina’s economy for years, supporting local businesses and helping sustain employment.
He argued that hostility towards foreign nationals could ultimately inflict greater economic damage on South African communities that depend on regional trade.
“Money does not ask for a passport before it circulates through a local economy. Border towns either embrace the opportunities created by their neighbours, or they decline when those neighbours take their spending elsewhere.”
Referring specifically to Musina, Chin’ono warned that if Zimbabwean shoppers increasingly choose to spend their money in neighbouring countries because they no longer feel welcome or safe in South Africa, the consequences will be reflected in empty shopfronts, job losses and declining commercial activity.
He concluded that xenophobia carries both social and economic costs.
“That is why xenophobia and Afrophobia are not only moral failures. They are also acts of economic self-harm.”
The decline in cross-border trade has raised growing concerns about the long-term sustainability of Musina’s business sector, where many livelihoods have historically depended on the steady movement of people and commerce across the Beitbridge border.
