Zimbabwe youths cash in on fuel smuggling

Before dawn breaks over the rugged hills of eastern Zimbabwe, 26-year-old Tendai threads his way through the dense forests of Burma Valley carrying two 20-litre containers of petrol strapped to his shoulders.

The unemployed youth is part of a growing network of informal fuel traders operating along the Zimbabwe–Mozambique border, where widening fuel price differences and deepening economic hardship are driving many jobless young people into risky smuggling operations.

"There are no jobs to talk about. This is our only chance to make money," Tendai said as he described transporting fuel through informal crossing points into Mutare, where black-market sales have expanded sharply.

Zimbabwe has recorded steep fuel price increases in recent months, with petrol and diesel prices rising above $2 per litre, adding pressure to households already struggling with inflation and weak incomes.

Across the border in Mozambique, fuel prices remain significantly lower, creating incentives for smuggling networks operating through porous crossing points in Burma Valley, Marymount, Stapleford and parts of Nyanga and Chipinge.

Petrol in Mozambique was selling for about $1.30 per litre on Thursday compared with about $2.08 in Zimbabwe, while diesel prices were also lower across the border.

What often starts as small-scale smuggling by unemployed youths has increasingly evolved into organised supply chains involving trucks transporting bulk fuel consignments, according to industry sources.

"There are no tenders for fuel. The sector is being controlled and monopolised," said one bulk fuel dealer involved in the trade. "The economy is suffocating us, no mercy. I have my trucks, and I am trying to be in the game despite the consequences."

After entering Zimbabwe illegally, fuel was reportedly being resold in Mutare for around $1.50 per litre on Thursday, undercutting formal service station prices.

Authorities have intensified anti-smuggling operations in response. Sources said the Joint Operations Command - comprising the Zimbabwe Republic Police, military, prison services, local authorities and revenue agencies - has increased patrols along the border.

"The whole borderline is now being manned, and patrols are being carried out by the JOC team," a security source said.

Despite the clampdown, analysts say the trade continues to thrive as economic pressures push more unemployed youths toward informal survival strategies.

"The young people are responding to the prevailing economic opportunity in the absence of formal employment," said David Mutambirwa, director of the Mutare Residents and Ratepayers Trust.

For smugglers like Tendai, the risks of arrest, injury or death are outweighed by the need to survive.