News / Local
Mysterious fire at Beitbridge Border Post
27 Dec 2016 at 22:19hrs | Views
Another suspicious fire gutted Customs and Excise warehouse in Beitbridge early Tuesday morning destroying thousands worth of goods.
The building was not damaged but blankets and diapers seized from importers got burnt.
Police have since launched investigations.
National police spokesperson chief superintendent Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident, saying the fire was put out by the Beitbridge Fire Brigade after it had destroyed blankets and diapers seized from importers.
"We are investigating the causes of the fire, but I do not have much details as of now," Nyathi said.
This is the third fire outbreak in a warehouse in two years to hit the border post.
In November 2014, a warehouse inside the border post went up in smoke destroying seized goods worth millions of dollars. The goods had been stored in the warehouse over non-payment of import duty.
On July 1 this year, another customs warehouse was torched by rioters protesting against the unpopular Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 banning importation of goods deemed locally available.
In the two earlier circumstances importers who lost their goods are yet to be compensated suggesting the government did not have insurance cover for the buildings.
Reports say officials from the Ports Health Department took some samples of the debris to verify if the fire was a result of any chemical reaction since the warehouse is poorly ventilated.
Under the country's customs laws, goods seized from exporters or importers for non-compliance or those pending payment of duty are kept in the State warehouses.
The building was not damaged but blankets and diapers seized from importers got burnt.
Police have since launched investigations.
National police spokesperson chief superintendent Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident, saying the fire was put out by the Beitbridge Fire Brigade after it had destroyed blankets and diapers seized from importers.
"We are investigating the causes of the fire, but I do not have much details as of now," Nyathi said.
This is the third fire outbreak in a warehouse in two years to hit the border post.
In November 2014, a warehouse inside the border post went up in smoke destroying seized goods worth millions of dollars. The goods had been stored in the warehouse over non-payment of import duty.
On July 1 this year, another customs warehouse was torched by rioters protesting against the unpopular Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 banning importation of goods deemed locally available.
In the two earlier circumstances importers who lost their goods are yet to be compensated suggesting the government did not have insurance cover for the buildings.
Reports say officials from the Ports Health Department took some samples of the debris to verify if the fire was a result of any chemical reaction since the warehouse is poorly ventilated.
Under the country's customs laws, goods seized from exporters or importers for non-compliance or those pending payment of duty are kept in the State warehouses.
Source - online
