RYAN CHIGOCHE
Zimbabwe’s cross border traders are feeling the pinch of land border closures, especially the Beitbridge border post, the busiest border in Sub-Saharan Africa, Business Times can report.
Government closed the borders in a bid to control the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.
The Zimbabwe Cross Border Traders Association Secretary-General Augustine Tawanda said the closure was affecting livelihoods.
He said since other businesses have been allowed to operate, the cross-border traders must also be allowed to work.
“The prolonged closure of the borders has a serious dent on livelihoods, Tawanda told Business Times.
He added: “Taking into consideration the safety aspect we really recommend that avenues be created for traders to do business. One way is to allow buses to pass through the border. We have always been using buses all along to bring in our goods. There is no reason why the same buses cannot be used.
“Government must consider livelihoods so buses carrying goods should be allowed to pass through so that livelihoods can be saved. ‘’
The prolonged closure of the Beitbridge border post has also affected the livelihoods of many businesses at large.
A high number of Zimbabweans cross the border to South Africa to buy cheaper goods for reselling in the country.
The closure of the land borders has also prompted some SME’s to hike prices of their goods because they are bringing in the goods through smuggling.
They said they incur additional costs in getting through the goods to Zimbabwe.
“The borders have been closed since January so it has been difficult to get the goods through. We are using risky ways to get the goods through as some of them are not available in the country. So we have increased our prices a bit as we are incurring smuggling costs. The closure of the border is hurting our business,” an entrepreneur, who runs a wholesale grocery business at Whitehouse, near Kuwadzana suburb in the capital, told Business Times.
