Industry captains decry 'numerous' roadblocks

THE presence of numerous roadblocks on the country's roads is becoming a burden on the economy as they increase the cost of doing business and frustrate investment.

Delegates attending the 2016 Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) congress here yesterday roundly condemned the number of roadblocks on the country's roads, which they said was contributing to negative perception about Zimbabwe.

Although the police recently made a commitment to reduce the number of roadblocks, which are necessary to ensure traffic safety and the observance of traffic regulations, the debate over their spread has become a national issue with motorists also protesting over the matter.

Speaking during discussions on the business environment in Zimbabwe, participants, who include ministers, business executives and legislators, said the Government should re-look the issue of roadblocks to avoid inconvenience to businesses.

ZNCC past president and Bulawayo businessman Mr Obert Sibanda accused the police of adopting "guerilla war" tactics on unsuspecting motorists.

"With business you talk about the critical issue of delivering goods and some of these goods are perishable. But when we've a roadblock every 5km and vehicles being stopped, those goods are affected. Some of the demands like red triangles and spare wheels should be questioned on broken down vehicles and not those in transit. It seems the roadblocks we have are more about raising money and the police need to address this," said Mr Sibanda.

"There is no need for the police to use guerilla warfare tactics where they hide and jump onto the road when mounting speed traps and at robots. All these issues are an inconvenience to business."

Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Ray Ndhlukula said a lot of business time was being lost while vehicles transporting goods spend time stationed at roadblocks.

"Time is important in business yet we've at our roadblocks people who don't appreciate time. 15 minutes lost at a roadblock is a lot of time. Time is money and if we lose it we will not recover it," said Dr Ndhlukula.

Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda was candid in his sentiments about roadblocks.

"We've debated this issue in Parliament to say no law says we should have a particular number of roadblocks. Why should we have 20 roadblocks between Beitbridge and Victoria Falls for the same vehicles that have been checked at the border," he said.

"We must have free access and not be stopped at each and every corner. We're glad to note that the Ministry of Home Affairs has said they (roadblocks) will be reduced and they'll be reduced."

Advocate Mudenda said it was embarrassing for one to bring an investor from a foreign country and just five kilometres after leaving the airport, they are stopped at a roadblock.

"Could this investor be a criminal? Let's not be our own enemies by doing things that affect ease of doing business," he said.

The Zimbabwe Council for Tourism also raised the issue to Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Engineer Walter Mzembi here on Wednesday saying a heavy police presence was a threat to the industry.

Mrs Barbara Murasiranwa, representing ZCT Victoria Falls, said some tourists visiting the resort town by road from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa had vowed never to return to the country after encountering countless roadblocks.

"We've a lot of self drives between Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana but the challenge is that there are too many roadblocks on our roads and most of them (tourists) are being fined as police would say "gondo harishayi". I've also encountered 44 roadblocks from here to Harare.

"We've a situation whereby tourists have to budget for tour fees, toll fees and fines for every roadblock they will encounter where they are delayed in most cases. We've reports of our clients who were fined for carrying camping material in their car while some were fined because their car was dirty as they were coming from a game drive. One wonders whether all of a sudden there should be a car wash in the bush," she said.

Some tourists have even missed flights as a result of numerous roadblocks, operators have said.

Mrs Murasiranwa said tourists now feel that Zimbabwe is not a safe destination as they are welcomed by roadblocks.

The tour operators said they are wondering whether the roadblocks are there for security or are a revenue collection instrument as that is negatively affecting tourism.

Eng Mzembi promised to table the issue with Cabinet.

"We're not a police State. We're busy trying to rebrand but such undue presence blocks commerce. Instead we should have security check points not what you are saying because in Victoria Falls we've tourism police who should be enough for the security of visitors," he said.