THE Forbes Border Post in Mutare, Manicaland province, could, in the next few years, surpass Beitbridge Border Post in handling commercial traffic, a senior customs officer has said.
According to recent customs and excise statistics, Forbes handles approximately 1 000 trucks daily, which is almost equal to that handled at Beitbridge Border Post.
According to Customs and Excise commissioner Batsirai Chadzingwa, Forbes will have an advantage over Beitbridge because of its closeness to the sea from Harare and the Beira Port’s ability to quickly recover from disasters.
“Beira is going to be a port of choice (for) traders because of its distance from Harare and its capacity to bounce back from natural disasters. After the tsunami, it was operational just after a week, which is the confidence business wants,” he said.
“We have been able to smoothly re-organise the movement of those volumes that were cause for concern in Mutare by our reaction to media reports.”
Chadzingwa was addressing journalists from the southern region of Zimbabwe during a three-day tax education workshop in Masvingo yesterday.
About 30 journalists from Masvingo, Beitbridge, Chiredzi and Zvishavane are participating in the workshop, facilitated by the United Nations Development Programme.
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