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.”