‘Bakkie runners’ clog up Beit Bridge border

THE CURRENT political situation in Zimbabwe has given rise to a breed of transporter that simply clogs up the cross-border system for legitimate, licensed operators, according to some industry commentators. These ‘runners’ simply operatea bakkie that crosses the border, loads up foodstuffs at a cash-and-carry, then goes back to Zim to sell off the goods. “They have a tendency to use unorthodox methods to influence movement of documents with customs authorities,” explains Hassan Suleman of FW Clearing, a newlyformed joint venture subsidiary of Freight World Zimbabwe and Nexor International, a Johannesburgbased commodity trading company specialising in procurement and project solutions. “It is up to the authorities of each government to intervene before they become a perpetual problem at the borders.” Freight World has been operating at Beit Bridge for the past 20 years. October 2007 saw the opening of a Messina office of FW Forwarding and Clearing offering complete border clearance services for traffic to and from the SADC countries and South African ports. “Currently our Messina office is manned by three staff with state-of the-art technology,” says Suleman. Clearance times have been reduced to four hours for both import and export clearances provided that all the correct documents are in order and that there are no delays with customs. We really took off towards the end of last year, handling all commercial cargo as well as transit cargo to and from Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, offering both bonded cargo and commercial vehicle guarantees.” With business booming, FW Clearing & Forwarding will soon open offices in Johannesburg and Durban to expand its service.