Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
After years of stagnation, the Beitbridge Duty Free Shop is re-opening its doors in a phased approach at the transformed border post, marking a significant milestone for cross-border trade and tourism in the region.
The re-opening of the shop is expected to enhance the overall travel experience for passengers and traders, offering a wide range of duty-free products, including cosmetics, electronics, and liquor.
This will not only benefit travellers but also create new opportunities for local businesses and entrepreneurs.
The transformation of the Beitbridge border post at a cost of US$300million in a private public partnership (PPP) between the Government and the Zimborders Consortium under a 17 and half year’s concession has been a game-changer for the region, streamlining customs and immigration procedures, and reducing waiting times.
The border, which is automated and has three permanent terminals for freight, buses, light vehicles and pedestrians, has resulted in efficiencies improving at the facility that processes at least 12 000 travellers off –peak and 30 000 at peak.
As the Government presses ahead with making the Port of Entry a world-class urban port, the re-opening of the duty-free shop is a further testament to its commitment to boosting economic growth and development in the area.
Under the Baobab Duty Free company, the shop is now being opened in phases, with a restaurant already opened to cater for the bona fide travellers and border agencies using the port of entry opened on February 16 this year.
“We are opening in a phased approach, and so far we have opened the restaurant, and we will begin the soft opening of the duty-free shop on March 23, pending the official opening in the next three to four weeks,” said Baobab Duty-Free company’s director, Mr Tinashe Mutemaringa.
“We are expecting to have the official opening soon and to create more employment for the local community and to provide quality services that come with the modernisation of the Beitbridge border post.
“The facility will be open from 6 am to 1 pm from Monday to Saturday, although this is subject to review as we progress”.
He said the authorities had started stocking the duty-free shop with the necessary accessories to provide relief for travellers going through the Beitbridge border post, offering food, toiletries, electronics, clothing items, fragrances, tobacco products and related premium Zimbabwean products.
Duty-free stores are retail outlets that are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the condition that the goods sold will be sold to travellers who will take them out of the country.
Further products that can be sold duty-free vary by jurisdiction, as well as how they can be sold, and the process of calculating the duty or refund of the duty component.
The duty-free stores/shops enhance the passenger experience, generate revenue for authorities, create local jobs, and facilitate international trade by allowing goods to be sold without local duties or VAT, catering to cross-border travellers.
In the early 1990s, the local duty-free shop used to be a centre of attraction for many travellers and Beitbridge residents since opening in 1995, with people coming from all parts of the country and even South Africa to get local products.
“This is a welcome development, the shop will benefit locals, as they used to cross and buy water across at the duty, push away vendors who sell food, and give confidence to travellers of standard products,” said Mr Levi Gama, the local head of the Agriculture Inspectorate.
Beitbridge Informal Traders Association chairperson Mr Mafios Macheka said the reopening of the Duty-Free shop was a development in the right direction that will add to the ambiance and ease of doing business at the port of entry.
“This is a good development for us informal cross border traders, because we can now buy fresh clean food while we do border formalities. It has created employment for our local people and our local Gross Domestic Product (GDP,” he said.
According to South African based migration reporter Nomazulu Moyo, facilities like the duty free shop also support cross-border movement by giving travellers a convenient and legal place to buy goods while in transit
She said as one of the busiest border crossings in the SADC region, any improvement to services at the Beitbridge border post helps make the travel experience better for many border users.
“As someone who travels through Beitbridge often, I have also seen the impact of the recent revamp. The upgrades have made the crossing process faster and more organised, which is a big improvement compared to the past,” said Moyo.
“Facilities like the duty-free shop also support cross-border movement by giving travellers a convenient and legal place to buy goods while in transit.
“In fact, the changes at Beitbridge are a welcome step in improving the efficiency of the border and making travel easier for people moving between South Africa and Zimbabwe.”
