THE president of the Cross Border Traders Association, Killer Zivhu, has said his association has engaged the government in the fight against smuggling.
Zivhu made the remarks during the launch of an anti-smuggling programme held in Bulawayo last week. He said they had roped in different institutions to fight smuggling and money laundering so that traders do not carry large sums of money across the border for restocking purposes.
“We have agreed with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority [Zimra] in principle that our main challenge as to why most of the people were smuggling was a dispute emanating from the receipts that traders would bring to the border.
“For instance, if one brings a receipt of a cellphone, Zimra would check its price on the internet and if it is a fake product, they will stick to the price of an original and charge duty,” he said.
Zivhu maintained that they had agreed with Zimra that as a pioneer project, they would allow and agree on the receipts they bring to the border and traders would pay duty according to the receipts.
“That was the main reason why people were smuggling just the same as the cars from Japan, Zimra would charge using the highest amount not based on the invoice.
“The black market has been giving the government nightmares. With this programme where we now have the FBC Bank rand card, it's cheaper when one deposits his US dollar and gets the South African rand equivalent using the bank rate, unlike on the black market where the rates are too high.
“People were going there because there was no solution; they wanted the South African rand but could not find them. Most of the problems that we were facing, including running battles with Zimra and the police, Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission are coming to an end. Smuggling, money laundering or the black market would be a thing of the past,” he said.
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