Editorial Comment: Let’s stop smuggling at border posts

chronicleCORRUPTION at the country’s ports of entry and exit has become endemic and is contributing to the rampant smuggling of goods in and out of Zimbabwe. We have called on authorities to curb this scourge before and we reiterate that the problem is surely getting out of hand and costs the country millions of dollars in lost revenue.

Weekend reports indicate that South African police have arrested six suspects for smuggling cigarettes to that country through its borders with Zimbabwe and Botswana during the past week and recovered cigarettes worth more than R1 million in three separate incidents.

Police in Limpopo, South Africa, said two suspects were arrested in the Maake area after they robbed a representative of a tobacco company delivering cigarettes valued at more than R500,000 to a shop at Burgersdorp twice in a week.

A second incident in Musina saw three Zimbabweans being arrested by South African soldiers on foot patrol along the two countries’ borderline. Cigarettes worth more than R200,000 were found in a vehicle used by the trio and it is suspected that the contraband was smuggled through the Limpopo River.

South African police also arrested a suspect at their border with Botswana, Groblersbrug Border Post last Monday and recovered Remmington Gold cigarettes worth more than R500,000.

The smuggling of goods particularly cigarettes is escalating into a serious problem eliciting the intervention of authorities in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana. Syndicates have become more sophisticated and are using all manner of skullduggery to elude border controls.

Cigarettes are particularly lucrative business for smugglers because they have a ready market in South Africa. Reports from that country say the South African Revenue Services charges high rates on cigarette imports and this has spawned a marked increase in cases of smuggling between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Our investigations have also revealed that smuggled cigarettes are repackaged in South Africa before being shipped to either Europe or Asia. A box of cigarettes is sold for an average of $135 on the official market (Zimbabwe) and R8,000 (about $800) in South Africa.

A report complied by SARS last year indicated that Beitbridge Border Post accounts for 70 percent of the tobacco contraband in the neighbouring country. Cigarettes are not the only goods smuggled out of Zimbabwe. Precious minerals such as gold and diamonds find their way out of the country through the border posts without being declared.

Despite the presence of scanners at Beitbridge Border Post, trucks laden with contraband regularly pass through the facility into South Africa. This usually happens because of collusion between smugglers and corrupt immigration and customs officials. Other goods are smuggled through the Limpopo River where syndicates “grease” the palms of soldiers patrolling the area.

While we acknowledge efforts being made to curb the scourge of smuggling at the border posts, we implore authorities to redouble their efforts. A report in our sister paper, Sunday News indicates that about 80 immigration officers have been dismissed from work this year, including the entire border staff at some posts, while principal officers were demoted and others suspended for engaging in corrupt activities.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Melusi Matshiya said they were scaling up investigations into alleged corruption within the Immigration Department and tightening screws at the border posts. He said the government would soon introduce e-gates at border posts to allow for the electronic monitoring of activities at the ports of entry with the move expected to curb smuggling of illicit drugs and goods.

We welcome the new developments but urge authorities to stay vigilant and introduce further measures to curb smuggling. Random spot checks at all border posts should be intensified with staff rotation being adopted to break syndicates. Deterrent sentences should also be meted out to smugglers.

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