adminUser experience at the country’s borders has been remarkably good this holiday.
Despite high traffic across Beitbridge Border Post, with over half a million entries and exits this month, the movement of cargo and human traffic has been good.
The same smooth flow has been reported at other border posts.
We commend the authorities at the border posts for embracing a border efficiency management system that roped in the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), the Immigration Department and other security arms and resulted in easy movement.
There was a clear separation of vehicles according to volumes of cargo and people they carry and this seems to have worked well.
This a refreshing departure from the frustrations that travellers experienced in previous years. We wait to see if this improvement will be sustained, well after the holiday season.
Once word goes round that our borders are now efficient, more people will be encouraged to use them.
Zimbabwe has a high Diaspora community and a good number is in the Sadc region, especially South Africa. Most yearn to come back home for the holidays, but dread the road trips, especially delays at the borders.
We cannot over-emphasise the impact of Diaspora money on the economy. At some point, as much as 30 percent of our foreign currency was coming from the Diaspora, through money sent home to family members, investments and direct spending when they come home. The relevant authorities need to continue exploring strategies of embracing the Diaspora community and showing them how valuable they are to the economy.
Queues at money transfer agencies on the eve of Christmas testified to how much families were dependent on the Diaspora. At bus terminuses like Roadport, families were collecting Christmas groceries from South Africa and other countries in the region. Others bought groceries online which were delivered to their loved ones here in Zimbabwe.
This went a long way in making Christmas enjoyable for a number of families.
Online Reporter