Zimbabwe showing strong signs of recovery

Don’t underestimate the potential of Zimbabwe. It’s Africa’s sleeping giant and is slowly starting to awaken, says Warren Jayes, managing director of Leo Shipping Services. And Jayes believes that as the country opens up, much opportunity comes with it. “Cargo volumes are steady at the moment, but we expect this will pick up as Zimbabwe starts to awaken. In the meantime Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo seem to be slightly quieter at present, mostly due to the mining procurement that has slowed down.” According to Jayes, customs delays remain a constant problem. “At the Beitbridge border post customs clearances are slow on both sides of the border. The increased demand for SADC certificates by Zimbabwe importers seems to have increased the volume of work for the South African customs officials, and all indications are they are struggling to cope.” He says this is something that must be addressed. “With the increase in workload, we are seeing lengthy delays on the export of cargo. Furthermore the queues at the ramp for supervision on stopped entries and bonded cargo on the South African side have also increased and customs does not seem to have the manpower on site to cope with the volume.” As it increases its fleet of eight ton trucks to accommodate smaller consolidation cargo to Zimbabwe, the issues at customs are critical, says Jayes. “Zimbabwe has shown signs of improvement this year and it is an important market for us,” says Jayes. “Landlocked countries like Zimbabwe will always be reliant on South Africa for logistical reasons, but an effective and efficient service is critical to remain ahead of the competition.”