Queues of trucks awaiting clearance are common on the South African side, with officials claiming they stretch for more than 70 kms during the busiest periods.
“The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority introduced an updated version of its customs system at its border posts last weekend and the change resulted in delays in processing on the Zimbabwean side,” Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service, Oupa Magashula, said. “Within a few days, 750 trucks which had been cleared in South Africa but not yet cleared into Zimbabwe were backed up in queue on the South African side for 75 km.”
Magashula conceded the movement of illegal goods, which was detrimental to the economy, was a major challenge.
“Every counterfeit product on sale on a street corner and every illicit cigarette is an indictment on our ambition to protect our local economy. The challenges we face, the movement of goods through our borders is just one aspect of the overall supply chain which begins with manufacture and ends with the purchase of a product by the final consumer,” she said.
Post published in: News