Once the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) gives the green light, construction will start on a new border post between Zimbabwe’s Mutasa district and Mozambique. Executives from the Eastern Highlands Plantation company – which produces tea – have committed to providing US$500 000 to kick-start the construction of the border post, according to Mutasa district administrator, Tendai Kapenzi, who said the establishment of the border post would have “numerous economic benefits” for the region. “We are in the process of setting up fruit and vegetable processing plants in Mutasa and the opening of the border post will create a faster route to export the products to the world,” he said. Preliminary calculations showed that the opening up of the post would allow at least 300 to 320 commercial truck movements per week for exports of tea and imports of fertiliser, fuel and other commodities, he added. “A lot of illegal cross-border trading that is currently going on will be legalised and a substantial amount of revenue can be collected,” said Kapenzi. Katiyo is situated in the Honde Valley which extends from the eastern border of Zimbabwe into Mozambique, about 130 kilometres from Mutare.
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The establishment of the border post will have numerous economic benefits for the region. – Tendai Kapenzi
