admin
In an interview last Thursday, the chairperson of SFAAZ, Mr Joseph Musariri, said some of the major issues that would be discussed during the meeting include delays at Beitbridge Border Post, trade competitiveness of local importers and exporters and the state of the country’s transport system among others.
“We will hold our annual conference in Beitbridge on 18 May during which we will discuss some of the major challenges that we continue to face in the industry such as undue delays in the clearance of commercial cargo.
“As SFAAZ, we are extremely worried about the processing time of customs declarations of goods by Zimra, which is still below the anticipated three hours.
“In fact, currently is takes up to two days to get the customs documents processed and this is largely because of their (Zimra) system connectivity, which is very slow resulting in delays,” he said.
Mr Musariri said various key stakeholders would make presentations during the forthcoming conference. The co-Minister of Home Affairs, Kembo Mohadi will officially open the one-day conference while his counterpart in the Ministry of Regional Integration and International Co-operation, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga would make a presentation on Zimbabwe’s Integrated Border Management Strategy.
Zimra is also expected to highlight issues around the Zimbabwe National Customs to Business Forum.
Mr Musariri said the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) would also make presentations on issues revolving around import and export.
Other stakeholders that are expected to attend the meeting include representatives from the Ministry of Transport and Communications and Chinhoyi University of Science and Technology.
“During our annual conference we will also come up with a Freight Forwarders’ Statutory Legislation Initiative as well as strongly highlighting on the customs clearing challenges focusing mainly on Beitbridge Border Post since it is the busiest inland port of entry in the country,” Mr Musariri said.
SFAAZ has a membership of 312 companies mainly involved in the business of customs clearance of imported and exported commercial goods.
Meanwhile, SFAAZ will also embark on a social responsibility initiative to mark the occasion of its annual conference by donating to orphans and disadvantaged families in the border town.
“As SFAAZ, we also intend to lend a helping hand to the Beitbridge community from which our members generate a very significant part of their revenue. It is against this background that SFAAZ managed to raise $3 000 to purchase food hampers which will be distributed to the identified beneficiaries,” he said.
Mr Musariri said his organisation has identified 20 elderly people, 20 child-headed families and 10 disabled persons who are set to benefit. Certificates of appreciation will also be awarded to companies that contributed money for the donations.
According to the Department of Social Welfare, Beitbridge District has a total of 12 000 orphans and 142 disadvantaged families.
Online Reporter