Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
COUNTRIES from West and Central Africa are turning to Zimbabwe’s Beitbridge Border Post as a model for modern trade facilitation, citing improved services, faster turnaround times and state-of-the-art infrastructure as key reasons for their benchmarking visit this week.
A delegation led by the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, toured the $300 million upgraded border to see first-hand how the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is conducting a modern border operation under a Public Private Partnership.
“We’re part of the international customs family, the World Customs Organisation family with more than 180 member administrations. It is necessary to undertake these benchmarking missions to learn best practices from each other,” said Mr Adeniyi.
“The visit to Beitbridge is to see how Zimra is conducting a modern border operation. To present a good experience of a border post, the infrastructure is excellent. It’s a border post that is transparent, efficient and able to improve cross-border services.”
He said the delegation, which included representatives from Cameroon and other West African countries, was grateful to Afreximbank for promoting such transformative projects.
“First, a modern border post requires state-of-the-art infrastructure, and we have seen it here. As representatives from three delegations, we can say this can rival any border in Europe. It is world-class,” he said.
“Second, we have seen how Zimra, as the lead agent, is getting things moving in an organised and structured manner. This is something that should be replicated in other border posts all over the world.”
Among the delegation’s recommendations was the need for system harmonisation between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
“The border between South Africa and Zimbabwe should harmonise systems. The systems must speak to each other for easy trade.
“For example, an export document from Zimbabwe can be used as an import document in South Africa.
“The processes are built on trust, and there is a need for deployment of ICT,” said Mr Adeniyi.
He also commended Zimbabwe’s efforts to curb transit fraud through electronic tracking and data sharing.
Acting Zimra Commissioner for Customs, Mrs Lonto Ndlovu, said it was significant that West African countries had identified Zimbabwe for the benchmarking programme.
“As customs administrations that belong to the World Customs Organisation, we are encouraged to identify those administrations that have modernised and have better infrastructure. Zimra has been identified by the West African countries for this benchmarking programme,” she said.
“So they are here to learn from us the best practices that we have employed and the technology that we have. This is very critical for us to host peers on such a mission.”
Zimborders Consortium’s General Manager Mr Nqobile Ncube said the visit was further affirmation that the Beitbridge project was now a continental reference point for PPP and BOT projects.
“This is an affirmation of the impact of this project, which rightly is used as a flagship model for PPP and BOT projects in Zimbabwe,” he said.
“We’re glad to note that the impact of this project has gone beyond the SADC region and is now being understood across Africa. You are aware that other SADC countries have been here to benchmark our operations.”
Mr Ncube said the team was thrilled to host Afreximbank and delegations from Nigeria, Cameroon and other West African states. Afreximbank representative Dr Gainmore Zanamwe — speaking on the bank’s trade facilitation mandate — said the developments at Beitbridge directly support intra-Africa trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“We have been working to support intra-Africa trade and the AfCFTA agreement. We may not increase trade unless we look at borders which are congested due to lack of infrastructure and poor processes,” he said.
“Zimra conceded they benefited from benchmarking because new ideas started coming up. The One-Stop Border Post concept here is now due, and we are seeing the Government working to upgrade other borders, including at Chirundu where a one-stop border post is already in existence with Zambia.”
Since the completion of the upgrade in 2023, Beitbridge has cut cargo clearance times from days to hours, introduced 24-hour operations, and deployed scanners, CCTV and integrated ICT systems. More than 10 Government agencies now operate under one roof, reducing duplication.
