Zim customs to act against duty-dodging cabinet ministers

ZIMBABWE'S CUSTOMS department is to take action against leakage of large amounts of duty, caused by cabinet ministers.
The ministers have got into the habit of declaring goods at home instead of customs posts. In some cases they order officials to come to their homes after they have returned from trips abroad.
The finance ministry, leading the drive to get more money for the bankrupt government, is trying to stop the practice as it knows that usually the ministers say they are well within the duty-free limit. But it is having a tough time. Ministers in senior posts are simply ignoring any orders to clear their goods when they come back into the country, and there are even some who refuse to make a declaration at all, saying that it is beneath their dignity.
A refusal to pay duty or be searched is also common among officials of the ruling ZANU PF party. When they accompany President Robert Mugabe on his many trips abroad, the Air Zimbabwe aircraft is sometimes overloaded with luxuries they have bought. On one famous occasion a plane had to be sent back to Europe to collect extra shopping - all of which went undeclared.
Publicly, there is no problem. The finance ministry denies that any tightening of the rules for politicians is being undertaken or that there are any cases of ministers abusing their powers. In reply to questions from a Harare newspaper about the practice, the permanent secretary of finance, Charles Kuwaza, said: I have not given any such instructions to the Director of Customs and Excise. Consequently your questions are without foundation.
BY MARTIN RUSHMERE