The Chronicle
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
THE on-going transformation of Beitbridge Border Post will go a long way in cementing Zimbabwe’s position as a vital player in facilitating regional and international trade, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa, has said.
She commended the Government for automating services and separating traffic, which has helped address efficiency challenges that had become perennial at the country’s and Sadc’s busiest inland port.
The border is being upgraded in three phases under a US$300 million project, which include the freight terminal and ICT facilities (Phase 1), bus terminal, and the private motor vehicles and pedestrian terminal, which fall under phases 2 and 3 respectively. So far the freight and bus terminals have been completed and President Mnangagwa last week commissioned the massive infrastructure development project.
Since the opening of the freight terminal in October last year, turnaround for the clearance of commercial cargo has improved from 24 hours to three hours.
In an interview on the sidelines of the commissioning event, Minister Mutsvangwa said the Government has done very well on infrastructure development.
“Projects like the Beitbridge Border Modernisation we are seeing here are cementing our position as a country in terms of trade facilitation,” she said.
Road works in Beitbridge“As you are aware, South Africa is one of our biggest trade partners and it’s pleasing to see the face of our border changing like this to boost cross-border trade between the two countries and other Sadc countries.”
She said the new traffic flow at the border post had helped eliminate delays, which saw trucks and people spending days before being cleared.
The minister said a lot of infrastructure development was happening across Zimbabwe because the Second Republic had opened up space for local and foreign investment.
Zimborders Consortium is transforming the border post under a private-public partnership (PPP) arrangement with the Government.
The consortium’s general manager, Mr Nqobile Ncube, said they were now able to clear 60 percent of commercial cargo arriving at Beitbridge with a target to clear 90 percent upon completion of all three border terminals by the end of November this year.
“The border post is being transformed under three main pillars, which include the separation of traffic, automation, and building efficiencies,” said Mr Ncube.
“There was a need to create traffic separation. You will recall that in the old border setup, all stakeholders were piled up in one hall.”
With the creation of the three terminals, border authorities are now offering customized services to each type of traffic and the plan is bearing fruits.
It is estimated that the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is now able to collect more than $600 million at the border daily due to imported services delivery.
Mr Ncube said following the automation of services, the human interface between border authorities and clients that creates room for rent-seeking activities was gradually being eliminated.
He said at a later stage they will be introducing another module called the automated number plate reader.
Chairperson of the border modernisation project subcommittee on ICT, Mr Shami Moyo, who is also Zimra’s director of ICT said they were now optimizing traffic flow systems on phase two of the project which is the bus terminal.
“Phases one and two are complete and as Government agencies, we now need to do our best to optimize the flow of traffic, just like what we did eventually when we opened the freight terminal last year,” said Mr Moyo.
“We had teething challenges of cargo piling up by then and we have optimised and things have improved. We learned a lot of things from that experience.”
Under this facility, cargo is cleared and duties are paid before it reaches the port of entry or exit and only checked for compliance.
Road works in Beitbridge“We are moving well with technology and automation of the border systems is one of the best even though there are still some areas that need attention,” said a freight forwarder Mr Innocent Ramatswana Moyo.
A cross-border transporter, Mr Emmanuel Timirepi, said they were happy about the separation of traffic, which has improved the ease of doing business.
According to the chairperson of the Beitbridge Business Expo, Dr Anna Muleya, the transformation of the border post is a critical move to address barriers to trade within the Sadc region.
“This is a great move and we applaud it because those inefficiencies in the border are choking our businesses, especially the customs clearing industry which is the main commercial activity in the town,” said Dr Muleya. — @tupeyo
