The Sunday News
Mashudu Netsianda recently in Beitbridge
ORGANISED smuggling syndicates operating along the Zimbabwe-South Africa border have invented a rather more “sophisticated” way of conducting their illicit business by using inflatable boats to cross the flooded Limpopo River as Government continues to lose huge sums in potential revenue due to rampant smuggling.
Investigations by Sunday News revealed that the syndicates, working in cahoots with villagers in Makakavhule area in Beitbridge, about 40 kilometres west of the border town, smuggle border jumpers and a wide range of banned commodities such as beer, cigarettes, household goods and groceries for fees ranging from between R500 and R1 000 depending on the quantities.
The racketeering takes place at night and during the day under the nose of security details patrolling the border. Beitbridge Border Post contributes 70 percent of all the customs duty collected in Zimbabwe and 30 percent of the country’s source of revenue comes from customs duty. The smugglers, oblivious to the dangers of drowning or being attacked by crocodiles, have virtually turned the illegal crossing area into “immigration offices” for those without passports. Some of the inflatable boats are allegedly owned by South African white commercial farmers who reside along the river.
“Some South African farmers along the border own these boats and they work in cahoots with these smuggling syndicates to smuggle cheap labour from Zimbabwe. Most of their farm workers are Beitbridge villagers living in areas along the border and with these boats it’s actually convenient to transport them,” said Ms Miriam Ndou, a villager in Makakavhule.
She said most South African farmers who lived along the border were cashing in on desperate Zimbabweans who hired the boats to cross the Limpopo.
The villagers are illegally employed in neighbouring South African farms and exploited by the farmers. One of the smugglers, who declined to be named, said the minimal cost for a “cruise” into South Africa is R300.
“I make a lot of money from undocumented travellers because the river is in flood. I have a boat which I bought in South Africa which I use to smuggle border jumpers and goods from South Africa. I charge a minimum of R300 but in January the fees were higher because there was a lot of demand as most people were trekking back after the Christmas holiday,” said the smuggler.
The news crew spotted a group of prospective smugglers on the banks of the Limpopo River on the South African side with contrabands. However, on the Zimbabwean side armed police could be seen ambushing them.
One of the police officers who declined to be named for ethical reasons said: “Smuggling is a daily thing and surprisingly despite joint border patrols with our South African counterparts, the practice continues unabated. We have arrested quite a number of smugglers during our patrols but it seems the smugglers are not deterred.”
One of the smugglers operating at Nottingham Estate illegal crossing point, said at times when they encounter police officers along the way, the cops simply ask for bribes before leaving them to carry on with their nefarious activities. The smugglers, including women, strip to their undergarments before crossing.
The owners of the goods wait for their commodities on the other side of the river, ready with vehicles to ferry the contraband. There is a network of roads in the middle of a thick forest cleared by the smugglers. The Sunday News news crew also observed that there is a group of young people permanently stationed at the illegal crossing points waiting to assist smugglers of goods and border jumpers.
At one of the crossing points, the news crew spotted an inflatable boat hidden in the shrubs near the river. At Makakavhule, the news crew observed a pick up pulling out of an illegal crossing point carrying a consignment of beer, groceries and tyres.
Despite the risk involved and the number of drowning incidents occurring in the Limpopo River, those involved in the smuggling business seem unfazed.
Last year in January, a suspected smuggler drowned in the Limpopo River while trying to retrieve his inflatable boat which was laden with smuggled banned chicken from South Africa. The body was found two days later by local villagers following a search.
Matabeleland South police spokesperson Inspector Philisani Ndebele said cases of smuggling along the Limpopo River continued to be a major concern.
“Smuggling along the Limpopo River is quite a big challenge, especially considering that there are so many crossing points dotted along the river.
However, as police we continue to conduct border patrols including joint operations with our South African counterparts and several smugglers have been arrested during those exercises,” said Insp Ndebele.
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) board secretary and director for legal and corporate services Ms Florence Jambwa said they were working on numerous initiatives to curb smuggling and corruption within the organisation.
“Reports have come to the attention of Zimra pertaining to the use of undesignated and illegal entry points along the border line to smuggle goods into the country, especially across the dry Limpopo River around Beitbridge,” she said.
Ms Jambwa said measures have been put in place to combat smuggling with the assistance of law enforcement agencies.
“Zimra works closely with law enforcement agencies to curb smuggling through holding joint roadblocks and border patrols to deter the use of undesignated and illegal crossing points. Several strategies have been put in place to curb all underhand dealings such as corruption, tax evasion and smuggling,” she said.-@mashnets
