Haulage Truck Drivers Stage Protest Against ZIMRA
ZIMRA’s failure to clear haulage trucks expeditiously at the Forbes Border Post has riled drivers from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The haulage truck drivers protested over the delays as they were forced to spend up to four days at the entry point.
A driver from DRC who spoke Manica Post claimed that empty trucks and loaded trucks had to follow the same queue for them to be cleared. He said:
When we are loaded coming to Zimbabwe, we go to Towaz, where they seal the trucks. There are too many trucks because the seals are few and we spend more than three days there waiting for seals.
The delays have reportedly resulted in artificial shortages of petroleum products in Zambia, according to another truck driver. He said:
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We need to come up with solutions. If they are having trouble with the seals they should just put a waiver on it because the fuel we are carrying is for the Ministry of Energy in Zambia, so we are now causing artificial shortages in Zambia by our delays here.
There are about 300 trucks and each truck carries an average of 40 000 litres.
So we are talking of about 700 000 litres that are being delayed. Zambia needs the fuel to move their mines but now it’s taking long.
Manicaland Provincial administrator Mr Edgars Seenza told the publication that they had held a meeting with the drivers and customs officials. He added that most of the issues raised had since been addressed. Said Seenza:
The truckers raised genuine concerns which we felt needed to be addressed urgently. We had a meeting with customs officials and the drivers.
We had to make sure that we assist these drivers from our sister countries and facilitate their smooth passage through Zimbabwe.
