The crackdown on informal freight at South Africa’s Beitbridge border with Zimbabwe is almost guaranteed to have exactly the opposite result – causing smugglers to use formal logistics as opposed to malaishas (‘we will carry you’).
This was the reaction of at least two cross-border consultants dealing with the North-South Corridor (NSC) connecting South Africa with the Copperbelt through Zimbabwe.
Kage Barnett of the Trans Africa Border Hub said the duties imposed by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) were too high, sudden, and immediately enforced without due notification – a point supported by Mike Fitizmaurice of the Transit Assistance Bureau.
The impact this had had on travellers heading north had created chaotic scenes immediately north of the border, Barnett said.
“We’ve heard of people sleeping in the open, their loads taken. It’s terrible.”
He said the indiscriminate application of Zimbabwe’s Statutory Instrument (SI) 59 of 25, implemented in March and intended to curb contraband, had resulted in legitimate travellers expected to pay duties for being suspected of importing goods.
Fitzmaurice said it was because Beitbridge had become a breeding ground for malaisha loads due to the perception that it was mostly okay to traffic as much ‘luggage’ as possible through the busy transit.
Zimra insists that the SI is intended to protect and promote fair trade and that a rebate duty of US$200 is payable per calendar month.
“Personal goods exceeding this limit are charged duty on the excess value,” a Zimra statement says.
“Bulk goods intended for resale or goods in commercial quantities are classified as commercial consignments and must be duty paid in full, and cleared through licensed clearing agents,” the statement says.
It adds that “commercial consignments of less than $1 000 in value can be duty paid at the Zimra counters without engagement of clearing agents”.
“Engaging clearing agents for consignments of less than $1 000 in value is however encouraged as it allows for pre-clearance, greatly reducing border delays.”
Both Barnett and Fitzmaurice claim that this was never communicated to the cargo clearing industry and, had it been, the chaos that has been reported from Beitbridge town itself could have been avoided.
Barnett maintains that for ordinary travellers to suddenly be expected to pay a duty on personal goods is unreasonable and, given the economic hardship in Zimbabwe, simply not within the disposable income means of most travellers heading home from South Africa.
Fitzmaurice said it was high time to look at who was behind the illicit supply chain into Zimbabwe.
Mailasha loads, he said, had become common practice at Beitbridge and, although there was justification for enforcing anti-smuggling measures, it was the manner in which SIs were implemented that would impact formal logistics operators complying with cross-border cargo clearing.
“Big transporters will have the necessary permits to bring in goods,” he said, adding that clearing agents and border post stakeholders should be investigated for encouraging illicit trade.
He said he feared that because all travellers were now suspected of potentially carrying contraband for illicit trade in Zimbabwe, the kingpins behind smuggling would look for alternative sources of carrying contraband – the logistics industry.
Unscrupulous truck drivers, for example, were often coerced into carrying smuggled goods, Fitzmaurice explained.
“We had a case the other day where a driver was caught with 38 kilograms of dagga in the cab of his truck.”
But whereas it’s drugs or much-needed supplies that are hard to come by in Zimbabwe, and are probably more affordable in South Africa, transporters usually bear the brunt when law enforcers crack down.
According to Fitzmaurice, Section 188 of the Customs Act of Zimbabwe, indemnifying transporters if their property (trucks) is being used by drivers for assisting smuggling, is often not applied.
“There’s a clause that says if the transporter was not aware of it (smuggling), and he can prove it, the truck will not be forfeited.”
He says because transporters believe they are often unfairly targeted, a lot of long-haul operators are avoiding the NSC.
As a result, most Copperbelt cargo carriers drive around Zimbabwe, increasing congestion at borders like Kazungula and, more specifically, Groblersbrug, a transit that has long battled with lack of infrastructural capacity.
Barnett maintains that it’s the indiscriminate application of the new SI that has impacted Beitbridge since last week.
“This border carries critical day-to-day goods and, all of a sudden everyone is expected to have a permit for crossing into Zimbabwe.
“Ordinary travellers can’t afford it.”
Fitzmaurice reiterated that if Zimbabwean authorities were serious about smuggling, “they should go to the source”.
All this was bound to do was force smuggling syndicates to look at alternative means of carrying contraband, he said.
