Bribery makes travelling home difficult

Posted by Nxwala on November 12, 2009

A Day in the Diaspora – Nxwala Ncube

Everything was normal until I reached the Beitbridge border. As soon as I left the border there was no tarred road, it was gravel. I do not know what all the money which they charge at customs is used for. I think it is supposed to be used to repair the road and improve the infrastructure there at the border gate but this is not the case. The place is dry there and you can hardly find a water tap, also temperatures are very high compared to Johannesburg.

The cars carrying goods and people are checked three times, first by the ZIMRA officials, secondly by the CID and thirdly by private security. All of these do not search as their duty but ask for bribes and then let the vehicle pass. If you do not bribe they will delay you by demanding all the goods to be brought down to check if you have declared everything. And if not you will go back to the ZIMRA officials and can then spend the whole day at the border.

As soon as you leave the border gate there is a roadblock for what reason I do not know because there are a lot of policemen at the border and the second roadblock is two kilometres away from the first one. All these demand bribes and if you do not pay them, you will have to bring down all your luggage and those items which were not declared in the border are processed. That is how they get extra money. Those people who know how to speak Shona survive better than those who do not as it is the most commonly spoken language. But those who stay in that area speak Venda, so it is difficult for them.

Ten kilometres from the border is a tollgate. The money collection is not done by the Ministry of Transport but by ZIMRA. The money that is collected from road users is not used for the reconstruction of the roads. People say the government uses the money to pay the police and the army and the CIO which are loyal to Mugabe.

From the border to Bulawayo there are two tollgates and six roadblocks, cars pay from R10 – R25. The ZIMRA officials have made their own individual receipts to issue road users and the money goes into their pockets. This information was even published in the Chronicle newspaper.