Govt starts work towards the modernization of more land borders

GOVERNMENT has put plans in motion to modernise the Chirundu, Victoria Falls and Forbes land border posts as part of the ease of doing business and enhancing regional and international trade, a senior customs official said on Monday.

Speaking during a media training programme for journalists from the southern region in Masvingo, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority’s (ZIMRA) commissioner for customs and excise , Mr Batsirai Chadzingwa said the revenue collector had since made recommendations to the Government on their expectations.

He said although most of the borders will follow the Beitbridge project model, they had recommended some add on the infrastructure.

“At Chirundu and Forbes borders, the consortium was there for pre-commencement works and we hope civil works will start soon so that we improve service delivery,” said Mr Chadzingwa.

“You will realise that when the Beitbridge border post was modernised , there was no aspect to accommodate drone technology and now we are working on building a landing area for our big drone. This will help us on surveillance issues to curb intrusive leakages.

“So, we have made such recommendations to fit technology and the digitisation program. It is also pleasing to note that service delivery has improved at Forbes where we are now operating on a 24 hours basis compared to the previous years when we relied on a 14 hours schedule”.

He added that they had started to note increased commercial traffic at the Forbes border post which is coming through the Beira Port.-chronicle