The ManicaPost
Cletus Mushanawani
News Editor
THE Government is working on redesigning Forbes Border Post by creating a dry port near Grand Reef Air Base in order to create a transit economy for the country, The Manica Post has learned.
A dry port provides services for the handling and temporary storage as well as inspection and customs clearance of freight moving in international trade.
Speaking after a tour of the proposed dry port in Mutare last weekend, Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube said Forbes Border Post has become a strategic entry point due of its proximity to the sea port of Beira.
“I am here to understand the operations of Forbes Border Post because Beira has become a major and strategic port. In terms of distance management between most Southern African countries, Forbes Border Post becomes a strategic port of entry that will really facilitate trade into Zimbabwe and the rest of the region,” said Prof Ncube.
Currently, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) is operating from five different sites, thereby creating inefficiencies on the border.
Said Prof Ncube: “The border is currently operating from five different sites, that means they have different storage sites as well. This is creating constraints on the efficiency of this border and that is why we have now identified a dry port site in Mutare District.
“The place is about 75 hectares and we will develop it into an efficient dry port,” said Prof Ncube.
He added: “The trucks will come through Forbes Border Post, drive into the country straight to that facility for clearance, before proceeding to other parts of the country and the region. That is how we want to redesign this border post to make it more efficient.
“I have heard that there are space and processing constraints between Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It is very important for the two countries to ensure that their systems speak to each other.
“There should be pre-clearing on both sides of the two countries’ borders. At the moment pre-clearance is only available on the Zimbabwean side and we want to make sure that we have the same arrangement on the Mozambican side. This will make the border more efficient,” said the Finance Minister.
An ZIMRA official who spoke on condition of anonymity citing protocol said slightly more that 100 tankers coming from Mozambique and other neighbouring countries are cleared at Forbes Border Post every day, hence the congestion that is experienced at times.
The Mutare dry port is one of the four dry port projects the Government is currently seized with for the purposes of increasing efficiency at the boarders and eliminating congestion.
Government has also designated Masvingo, Bulawayo and Makuti as the country’s customs dry ports, according to Statutory Instrument 55 of 2020 gazetted by Prof Ncube.
“The dry ports will allow trading without having to cross the border into neighbouring countries. Business people do not have to go all the way to Beira or Johannesburg to buy their goods. They will do so within the Zimbabwean borders and the country will generate the much-needed foreign currency from that.
“The model we are working with will have a combination of dry ports and customer clearance points.
“We also want these dry ports to be Export Processing Zones so that we maximise on the transit economy.
“Several countries around the world have capitalised on this and are doing very well. These include Kazakhstan, which is making about US$5 billion per annum from the transit economy,” he said.
“Being landlocked is not a curse. It is an opportunity to explore the revenue streams that come with being landlocked. That is what we are trying to do,” said the Finance Minister.
