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The Herald
Thupeyo muleya
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (zimra) has rejected claims by a South African government minister that the congestion at the Beitbridge border post can be attributed to the use of a manual system to clear commercial cargo.
zimra said yesterday that it is using the Automated Customs Data System (ASYCUDA World) to process imports and exports of private and commercial cargo.
South African Home Affairs Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi told reporters in Pretoria on Wednesday that congestion in Beitridge was worsening due to the unavailability of an automated system on the Zimbabwe side to clear commercial cargo.
“It is a well known fact that the South African Revenue Service (SARS) systems are fully automated and can process many trucks per hour on any given day, while the Zimbabwe systems are largely manual and can only process 20 trucks per hour. hour, max 30 at peak performance, ”said Dr. Motsoaledi.
He continued: “The South African side cannot send more trucks than Zimbabweans can handle.
“When truckers leave the waiting area to quickly get to the border in the vain hope of putting pressure on the SA authorities to process them as quickly as possible, they expect a miracle because the system works cooperatively like a relay race. . “
However, it emerged that the aforementioned delays were caused by mandatory Covid-19 testing on the South African side and the curfew imposed by the South African authorities.
Zimra said yesterday that Minister Motsoaledi’s claims were unfounded considering that the revenue collector is using ASYCUDA World, which is the highest version currently available.
“Therefore, the compensation system is highly automated and supports a number of high-level efficient processes. Therefore, the aforementioned statement is neither factual nor unfounded, ”said zimra spokesman Mr. Francis Chimanda.
He said that under the current configuration, all export and import cargo is pre-authorized by agents who file their declarations online through the Internet-based system from any smart device from their homes or offices, before the arrival of the goods.
The process, Chimanda said, allowed clearing agents to electronically attach required supporting documents, such as invoices, certificates of origin and shipping notes.
“These declarations are processed electronically in the different remote Document Processing Centers (DPCs) in the interior that operate 24 hours a day.
In addition to declarations, shippers can now also deposit cargo manifests electronically on the same platform. Once the declarations are processed and passed as correct, the clearing agents can carry out the clearance of the goods electronically without the intervention of zimra, ”he said.
Mr. Chimanda said that incoming cargo was authorized to cross into Zimbabwe by notification once these electronic processes had been completed.
Upon arrival in Zimbabwe, cargo was routed through several dedicated channels in coordinated processes including scanning, physical examination and electronic sealing in the case of cargo in transit.
He said that the routing of traffic and the physical examination, which were minimal due to a comprehensive risk management system, were the only manual processes performed on the cargo.
“On the other hand, cargo leaving Zimbabwe, which has also previously been electronically authorized, spends time in Zimbabwe waiting to be accepted into South Africa, causing the long lines that have become apparent in recent weeks.
“The above illustrates the high levels of automation and efficiency that zimra has achieved and discards the misconception that we are manually dispatching goods and that this is the cause of the delays,” said Mr. Chimanda.
