The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has labeled the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) as a solution to de-congesting the country's borders after complaints have been leveled by travelers on ZIMRA for slow service.
Travellers as well as transporters accuse border authorities and Zimra of inefficiencies which keep truckers at the borders sometimes for more than two weeks.
Long queues are the order of the day at the border especially at Beitbridge, the country's busiest entry point, which connects Zimbabwe and other regional countries such as Zambia, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Road has become the cheapest way to transport goods in the absence of a functional railway services provider.
The debt-ridden NRZ, which owes creditors over $140 million, among them its workers, is in urgent need of recapitalisation to buy new equipment and restore its aged infrastructure.
Zimra acting commissioner general Robert Mangwiro said revival of the NRZ was paramount as most of the goods currently being moved by road would be transported via rail which is much cheaper.
Rail has a separate goods clearing point which will de-congest the borders.
"Let us resuscitate our rail system. We are unnecessarily congesting our borders with bulk goods (carriers)," he said.
Mangwiro said Zimra had adopted new and improved systems to assist clear goods faster and reduce congestion.
- Herald
0