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Njabulo Nkomo, [email protected]

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is on Thursday, set to suspend the usage of the Kariba border as a crossing point for a host of stakeholders citing high traffic volumes that have stretched the  infrastructure beyond its capacity.

Chirundu One Stop Border Post will be used as an alternative. The Chirundu OSBP – serving Zambia and Zimbabwe – is considered the first fully functional OSBP in Africa. It was initiated by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) bloc and launched in 2009.

According to a statement from the tax collector, cross-border passenger bus operators, importers of vehicles and their clearing agents will no longer use Kariba border post.

“The Commissioner of Customs and Excise wishes to advise all valued stakeholders, cross border passenger bus operators, importers of vehicles and their clearing agents as well as all cross-border travellers through Kariba, that the Authority has suspended, until further notice, the use of Kariba Border Post as a port of entry for cross border passenger ferrying buses and vehicles imported from the Far East transiting through Zambia from the Port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

“These movements will now be required to use Chirundu One Stop Border Post as the alternative,” reads the statement.
The Kariba port normally handles large volumes of human traffic crossing into and coming from Zambia and also processes large volumes of local and international visitors that want to walk across the Kariba Dam wall.

Zimra said the decision was reached in the wake of high traffic congestion being experienced at Kariba Border Post which has stretched the infrastructure beyond its capacity.

Kariba Border Post

“The high traffic volumes have also adversely affected ongoing Government projects towards the refurbishment of the Kariba Dam wall structures and the hydro-power plant, both of  which are critical national resources given their strategic economic importance,” read the statement.

“In liaison with the Zambia Revenue Authority, suitable intervention measures have been put in place to manage the adjustments of the port of entry in Zimbabwe and port of exit in Zambia on any declarations that had already been received and processed through the automated platforms of each Authority.

“All fresh declarations henceforth should reflect the port of exit and/or port of entry aligned to the changes effected by this notice as the case may be.”

Under the one-stop border post arrangement, one office houses immigration officials from both countries, which reduces the amount of time spent at the border post.