Zimra must walk the talk on porous ports

Zimra must walk the talk on porous ports
Published: 31 August 2017
Corruption at the country's ports of entry has become a cancer that authorities appear not to have any viable solution for in sight.

As a result of the porosity of structures and systems at borders, mainly Beitbridge Border Post, Zimbabwe might be losing millions of dollars to some unscrupulous activities involving an unholy alliance between Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) officials and some corrupt importers and ex- porters.

Zimbabwe is facing economic challenges and Zimra has been one of the key contributors to the fiscus, and allowing leakage of such magnitude has serious consequences to Government operations and the nation at large.

It is saddening as reported by this paper yesterday that some Zimra officials are prejudicing Government of millions of dollars in potential revenue by failing to implement laid-down procedures on transit cargo.

Zimra introduced the Electronic Cargo Tracking System to monitor movement of in- transit trucks and several other measures to curb corruption and reduce fraud, but officials continue to abuse the systems for personal enrichment at the expense of the country.

Despite introduction of the Electronic Cargo Tracking Systems, there are still problems of officers not sealing some of the trucks as they should do, obviously after receiving some inducements from culprits.

The Electronic Cargo Tracking System requires that all trucks, inclusive of tankers, break-bulk and containerised cargo in transit through Zimbabwe be sealed at the time of entry to facilitate tracking while transiting through the country.

The revenue authority admitted, for instance, at Beitbridge Border Post that the officers can seal only nine trucks with tracking seals, yet they have enough seals to cover all in-transit trucks that pass through the border.

Such practices explain why there are reports that cargo cleared as on transit ends up being offloaded in Zimbabwe, a practice that has seen Government failing to collect import duty for such products.

Have you ever wondered why there are more mobile shops mainly in Harare at the weekends and at night where goods, some of them sold at half price, are abundant. What boggles the mind is why no one in authority bothers to investigate the origin of such goods and let the law take its course.

Yes, it is intriguing to note that Zimra board chairperson Mrs Willia Bonyongwe admitted during an Ernst & Young tax seminar held in Harare that her officers were frustrating efforts to seal the leakage some importers were taking advantage of.

However, we feel it's not good enough considering the damages these nefarious activities were doing to the country's economy.

The country cannot allow Zimra officials at the border posts to violate the regulations and processes and in the process costing the country millions of dollars without the perpetrators facing the music.

Zimra revealed that Forbes Border Post had performed better with a 67 percent reduction in transit traffic fraud recorded and the question is why is the same rot not being nipped in the bud at Beitbridge Border Post, the major port of entry leading north of Africa.

Zimra encourages all transporters to ensure that trucks transiting through Zimbabwe have adequate facilities to allow for mounting of electronic seals that enable the authority to track movement of the cargo, and it is only God who knows why the officials do not mount them.

We, therefore, implore Mrs Bonyongwe to walk the talk and ensure the revenue authority rises above the challenge and seal all the loopholes being taken advantage of. The people who illegally import these products sell them at times in the front of some shops, therefore, frustrating some bona fide shop owners who pay rates to council.

We should all be responsible citizens, who contribute positively towards national development.
- the herald
Tags: Zimra,

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