Smuggling surges after Zimbabwe ban

Beitbridge - Smuggling operations into Zimbabwe from South Africa's border town of Musina have increased following that country's import ban on basic food stuffs.

Business formations in Musina said as a result of the Zimbabwe's import ban, which came into effect on 1 July 2016, more cross border traders were relying on smugglers to get their goods across the Limpopo River.

The International Cross-Border Traders Association and Musina Business Forum on Wednesday told reporters at the Beitbridge border post that some frustrated traders were now smuggling goods into Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwean authorities have resorted to confiscating banned goods at the border to enforce the new Statuary No.64 law, which makes it an offence to import basic food stuffs and other commodities. "The importers are already using illegal port of entries [that are] ungazetted to take their goods into Zimbabwe which is not good for the economy of that country, and which is not good also for their safety," said Dennis Jeru the International Cross-Border Traders Association president.

Jeru's claim was also corroborated by Musina Business Forum's Richard Makwaseni, who also claimed that the situation had become an economic and human catastrophe.

"There is a crisis now, because criminal activities are at play, they opened [their] own border to take goods on the other side because of this issue," Makwaseni said.

Makwaseni said people had been killed while trying to smuggle goods across the border. He called on the government of Zimbabwe to lift the ban on the importation of goods.

Commenting on the situation at the border, Jeru said: "We are happy that no buses are crossing today, we are sending a clear message to the government of Zimbabwe that we are not happy with the implementation of Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 which ban importation of goods into Zimbabwe."

Five years ago, the Limpopo government declared Musina part of its three Special Economic Zones, and lured investors, mainly from China and India, to build shops close to the border. But investors now face a bleak future as shops in Musina remain deserted because fewer Zimbabweans were buying goods since the ban.

Long distance and local taxi operators said they were not spared in the aftermath of the move to ban food imports. The closure of shops since Friday was a clear sign that without Zimbabwe, Musina's dream of becoming a major city was falling apart, observed Makwaseni. "As we speak now, shops are closed and workers were forced return home because of the situation in Zimbabwe and because we were busy building a big mall that was implemented with Zimbabweans in plans," said Makwaseni.

He said the South African government had to intervene as the decision to ban basic food was also in contravention of the government's bilateral agreement with Zimbabwe. Taxi operators said the number of commuters between Beitbridge and Gauteng has declined drastically. "

We used to release more than six taxis per day, now there are no taxis leaving - it is very bad," said long distance taxi driver Promise Ndou.

Jeru said his association had written to the South African Development Community pleading for intervention in order to end the developing crisis.

At Beitbridge, normally a hive of activity, no trucks were moving into Zimbabwe. Trucks usually line up for kilometres at the border, but in their place were public order police.