adminNgoni Dapira
ZIMBABWE’S porous borders have been fingered among the major obstacles undermining industrial development.
This was revealed in the resolutions at the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries congress held recently.
Industrialists said there was need for serious engagement with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority to find lasting solutions under the economic blueprint, the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation. It was said the establishment of an ad-hoc committee on the leaky borders situation in 2013 saw limited progress, but they would continue to push on the matter.
Government is losing millions of dollars in potential revenue as smugglers continue discovering loopholes of evading customs duty. It was revealed in Parliament by the Thematic Committee on Peace and Security last month that scores of people also lose their lives trying to cross the border to South Africa or Botswana through illegal entry points.
While official figures suggest that $2 billion has been siphoned from the economy through criminal activities at our porous borders, as Zim-Asset is being implemented this is one key area that should be dealt with decisively.
CZI national president Mr Charles Msipa said the collaboration of the police and the Zimra would be critical to plug leakages in the economy caused by the smuggling of goods in and out of the country.
“It would be wrong to expect a swift improvement in the liquidity situation without addressing the areas contributing to illegal trafficking of money and smuggling of minerals and other goods.
“We can talk of the smuggling of gold, diamonds, tobacco, cigarettes, among other goods, to South Africa,” said Mr Msipa, who is also the managing director of Schweppes Zimbabwe.
During the CZI congress, a Mauritanian economist, Mr Patrick Meyepa, said Zimbabwe must control its porous borders to protect its local industry from the influx of cheap imports, some finding their way illegally.
“In Mauritius we try to be wiser than our competitors. Zimbabwe needs to control its porous borders and have strategic policies in place to cut costs of production and lure investors to support the manufacturing industry, which is a key component for the economic growth of any country,” said Mr Meyepa.
With the quick-wins anticipated from ZimAsset by 2018, it is imperative to address the issue of porous borders wide scale.
Online Reporter