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The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority recently stepped up its search of cargo at border posts following an upsurge in cases of smuggling. The revenue collecting authority is said to be impounding an average of six vehicles per day for smuggling.
The 100 percent search came into effect about two weeks ago after Zimra bought two mobile scanners. A team from the authority’s loss control department is reported to be conducting the searches at the country’s ports of entry which include the busiest port, Beitbridge Border Post.
Cigarettes are the main product being smuggled out of the country while chickens, potatoes and blankets are the major products being smuggled into the country.
Zimra said it introduced the 100 percent search after realising that it was losing a lot of revenue as a result of smuggling.
The objective of the 100 percent searches, Zimra said, is to ensure that the travelling public complies with the country’s customs laws. We want to commend Zimra for continuing to review its operations in order to keep pace with changing circumstances.
The bulk of government revenue is collected by Zimra so its systems must be watertight to ensure government is not prejudiced of revenue. It is, however, important for Zimra to ensure that its systems remain efficient to avoid inconveniencing the travelling public.
Reports of chaos at Beitbridge Border Post where commercial cargo is reported to have been stuck since Friday are disturbing. Truckers and clearing agents are blaming Zimra for the chaos.
Truck drivers said they tried to engage Zimra management at Beitbridge Border Post without success. The drivers said the congestion at the border post started two weeks ago when Zimra started implementing the 100 percent searches on all cargo despite having a few workers.
We implore Zimra to move with speed to address the shortcomings at Beitbridge. When it started implementing the 100 percent searches, Zimra acknowledged that it did not have adequate manpower.
There is therefore an urgent need to boost the manpower at the ports of entry so that the travelling public is not inconvenienced. Reports of truck drivers spending days at the border post waiting to be cleared are a cause for concern.
Congestion should not be allowed at the border post as this tempts truckers and clearing agents to pay bribes to Zimra officers to jump the queue.
The 100 percent searches might fail to achieve itqs intended objective if Zimra does not address the issue of manpower shortage.
Zimra should ensure that waiting time at the border post is drastically reduced while at the same time ensuring that all loopholes that prejudice government of revenue are plugged.
We want to once again call on Zimra to urgently address the issue of delays at Beitbridge Border Post.
derick.khumalo