THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has come under fire from industry for poor service delivery resulting in customs clearance delays that cost businesses on a daily basis.
Speaking during an online meeting with Zimra officials, Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce Harare chapter vice-chair Amiel Matindike said clients suffered due to downtime at ports of entry, largely attributed to connectivity challenges and staff shortages within the revenue collector’s system.
He said clients are often told that the system is either down or slow.
“This has been worse due to redirecting of traffic from Kariba to Chirundu and, unfortunately, we have no means to verify some of these things,” Matindike said.
Business, according to Matindike, was also concerned with some Zimra staffers during audits which he said were sometimes lengthy while disrupting operations.
“Our members are speaking from a position of fear and say it’s like they are being interrogated. We also request that Zimra specifies what type of audit it would be carrying out and the duration otherwise it’s difficult to have normal operations while the audits are going on,” Matindike said.
He added that Zimbabwe’s porous borders have resulted in the influx of smuggled goods posing a huge threat to the formal business sector.
However, Zimra commissioner customs and excise Batsirai Chadzingwa said the institution was currently tightening security at the points of entry, hence the intermittent delays experienced by clients.
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He said this would be done through a multi-faced led project that is expected to be completed in 2024.
Addressing the same virtual meeting, Zimra head of technical services Mathias Chinanayi said the staff shortages at border posts especially at Chirundu were due to accommodation challenges.
He said 19 Zimra employees were currently staying in lodges as the institution is yet to build its off own staff houses.
Participants also suggested that Zimra adopts the Starlink internet services to improve connectivity.
The Zimra officials said a recent management meeting had tasked the revenue collector to look into the feasibility of switching over to Starlink.
