Delegation heads for Zim to address Beitbridge corruption

The Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (CBRTA) has scheduled a meeting with its Zimbabwe counterparts in an effort to resolve the ongoing issues around the Beitbridge border post. According to CBRTA CEO, Sipho Khumalo, the meeting in early March will include officials from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) and the Vehicle Inspection Department (VID). “This is an extremely urgent matter and we have made it clear to Zimbabwean authorities that we have to sit down and discuss the problems in order to find solutions,” he said at the fourth Cross Border Operators’ Forum held in Pretoria last week. Zimra, which was scheduled to attend the forum, cancelled at the last minute. Issues on the agenda for the meeting that will take place in Zimbabwe on March 11&12 include corruption at the Beitbridge border post, the exorbitant fees charged compared to other countries, the lack of understanding of legislation and the slow procedures. It takes almost three days to get through Beitbridge at present compared to only one day at other borders such as Mozambique and Botswana. According to Khumalo, corruption remains a grave concern. “We are also calling on any operators who would want to be part of our delegation to contact us urgently as it will add great value to the meeting if we can have people telling of real experiences.” He said another important agenda item was that of VID, Zimra and law enforcers at Beitbridge not fully understanding the legislation as officials in higher positions do. That often resulted in confusion and delays, he said.