Customs revenue trebles after dismissal of corrupt officials

CORRUPTION IN Mozambique's customs department has increased enormously, according to the director of the country's customs services, Barros do Santos. He recently said that at the Machipanda post on the Zimbabwe border all 20 officers were dismissed because of corruption. Following the shake-up the monthly revenue at the post trebled to US$ 400 000. Sugar from Zimbabwe accounts for the biggest single item of contraband, as smugglers take advantage of the collapse of the Zimbabwean currency against a fixed selling price. Smugglers sell sugar in Mozambique for less than half the local price. In the three weeks to the end of October 600 tonnes were seized at Machipanda.