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Richard Muponde, Plumtree Correspondent
MPHOENGS Border Post in Plumtree is falling apart with water sipping into staff quarters and customs offices, destroying documents and goods stored in warehouses.

A storm, which hit the area four months ago, destroyed buildings and electrical installations leaving the entry point operating without electricity.

The border post is the third entry point into the country from Botswana; the others are Plumtree and Maitengwe Border Posts.

A visit by a Chronicle news crew to the entry point last Friday in the company of the area’s legislator, Cde Obedingwa Mguni, revealed a sorry state of affairs.

All buildings from the staff quarters to the main administration block had their roofs blown off and rain is destroying ceilings and goods in the warehouses.

The lighting system was also dysfunctional as tower lights providing lighting to the complex could not be connected to the generator, which was being switched on and off intermittently to save fuel.

Cde Mguni, in whose constituency the border post is situated, said the state of affairs is creating a bad picture of the country to the outside world. “This depicts a very bad picture of the country at a time we are vigorously marketing ourselves to the world. The border is an entry point from South Africa and Botswana. It’s the face of Zimbabwe. This is not what we want as Zimbabwe, especially in the new era where we are promoting the ease of doing business,” said Cde Mguni.

He said when the storm hit the area last year, he came and assessed the damage and was promised that repairs were commencing soon.

“It’s now four months. We can’t allow this to continue. Something must be done as a matter of urgency. Recently, I was at the Botswana side of the border. They have state of the art infrastructure. What I am seeing here makes us a laughing stock. Furthermore for this place to stay for four months without electricity, it’s a security risk for the country,” the MP said.

@richardmuponde