HOME Affairs minister Ignatius Chombo has expressed concern at the chaos at Beitbridge Border Post, saying it was scaring away investors and creating loopholes for revenue leakages.
Chombo, who was touring the border post on a fact-finding mission last Friday said the situation at one of the busiest inland ports of entry in sub-Saharan Africa was deplorable and exposed the country to revenue leakages.
Over 500 vehicles and 10 000 travellers pass through Beitbridge every day.
Travellers sometimes spend six to 18 hours at the port of entry to complete immigration and customs formalities while for commercial traffic to be cleared it takes about three days.
The delays in the clearance of cargo and travellers have resulted in increased cost of goods and services.
Statistics show that 10 million tonnes of cargo pass through the corridor every year.
The Home Affairs minister said he was told of various challenges faced by government workers based at the border which included lack of accommodation and transport and would engaged the finance ministry.
- NewsDay
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