The Government has cleared the congestion at the Beitbridge border post where travellers were experiencing long delays to leave or enter the country and also deployed more security personnel to deal with criminal activities along the boundary with South Africa, a Cabinet Minister has said.
A total of 32 138 travellers mostly, South Africans,
Zambians, Malawians, Mozambicans, and Zimbabweans used the border post between
January 1 and 7. These include 7 887 arrivals and 24 251 departures.
In an interview yesterday, Home Affairs and Cultural
Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe said a raft of measures had been implemented
to address challenges at the border.
He said the law enforcement agents will deal ruthlessly
with those caught on the wrong side of the law.
It is understood that the state is losing at least US$1
billion annually in potential import duty due to smuggling activities along the
Limpopo River.
The Minister said border officials from Zimbabwe and South
Africa worked together to expeditiously clear the increased volume of both
vehicles and human traffic that is synonymous with the festive season.
He said last month, he met his counterpart from South
Africa, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and agreed on a number of measures and areas of
mutual cooperation to minimise bottlenecks at the border.
“Government officials have been to the border on a number
of occasions to assess the situation with a view of troubleshooting challenges.
“We then had a meeting with our counterparts in Musina a
month ago, where we agreed on a number of measures to deal with the anticipated
numbers of people given the Covid-19 situation which is currently obtaining on
the ground,” said Minister Kazembe.
He said following the two ministers’ engagements,
cooperation was amplified through an integrated border management system.
“Our officials have been working together and I have been
in constant communication with my counterpart, monitoring and addressing the
challenges,” said the Minister.
He said the National Covid-19 Taskforce was seized with the
matter concerning the seamless and safe movement of travellers across the
country’s borders.
The Minister said challenges affecting most ports of entry,
including Beitbridge were being addressed and managed by multiple stakeholders.
He said Government will continue applying a multi
stakeholders’ approach to enhance the ease of doing business at the borders, at
the same time ensuring the safety of all travellers.
“With regards to the illegal border crossing, the
Government has always been seized with the matter and you will recall that
members of the National Security Council visited the border on the December 11
and toured all the undesignated crossing points.
A decision was then made, hence the deployment of more
security and technologies”, said Minister Kazembe.
He warned border jumpers, smugglers and other
wheeler-dealers that the security team was ready to deal with them within the
confines of the law.
The Minister said the Government will not tolerate crime
along its borders and that there will be no sacred cows.
He said it was important for travellers to obtain the
necessary documents before embarking on their journeys to avoid unnecessary
inconveniences.
“People are also warned against producing, issuing or using
fake Covid-19 certificates. There will be zero tolerance for corruption.
Members of the public are urged to report any form of
corruption,” said the Cabinet Minister. Chronicle
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