News from Zambia that the Radiation Protection Authority (RPA) of that country has announced that metal-made goods will henceforth be tested for ionisation and that fees of between 600 and 50 kwacha will be levied on most 2nd-hand cars and smart devices, has been met with opposition.According to Mike Fitzmaurice, CEO of the Federation of East and Southern African Transport Associations, “it’s ridiculous.“Most of these imports have already been checked for radiation. It’s just another excuse to make money out of transporters.”At Zambia’s Chirundu crossing into Zimbabwe, where the RPA development is expected to have its biggest impact, the transit point once championed as Africa’s first one-stop border post (OSBP) is said to have descended into chaos.A fact-finding mission to that border, led by Fitzmaurice and funded by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), has confirmed that it’s not an OSBP anymore.“We spoke to officials from Zimra and the ZR A (Zimbabwe and Zambia’s relevant revenue authorities), and they said that none of the current staff had been trained in OSBP procedures.“What has remained is a mess.”Fitzmaurice stressed that it would take significant investment to improve efficiencies
