Zimbabwe

August 2006

  
Illegal entry points to Zambia exposed, (Sunday Mail, 2006-08-13):-Stories have been told and written about the Zimbabwean dollar being found on the streets of countries like Zambia, South Africa and Mozambique, but it appears little has been done to curb the smuggling of local currency which has had a negative impact on the economy. Concerned Zimbabweans say the problem has not been treated with the seriousness it deserves while questions have also been raised on the apparent laxity in the policing of the country’s borders as smuggling is reported to be rife. Only last week, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) introduced a new family of bearer cheques but within two days and despite the heavy presence of security officers at all border posts, the new bearer cheques were reported to have flooded the Zambian market. This happened at a time when a good number of Zimbabweans had not even handled the new currency. Even the monetary authorities are concerned and frustrated with the leakage. "We are aware that the new bearer cheques crossed into Zambia through some illegal points along the Zambezi River. Our currency is in demand and is working overtime there. We have already put in place strategies to deal with that, but we will not tell the public what we are doing now," Reserve Bank governor Dr Gideon Gono told The Sunday Mail last week. While there is tight security at border posts where motorists and individuals are being subjected to thorough searches, the Zimbabwean currency continues to be smuggled out of the country through several illegal points. It was against this background of the continuous smuggling into and out of the country that The Sunday Mail dispatched a team to Zambia last week to investigate how the currency smugglers are evading security agents. There was a hive of activity at the Chirundu Border Post where law enforcement agents were going through every piece of luggage and searching all vehicles. Members of the National Youth Service were also called in to assist and they carried out their duties diligently. Although some travellers were found with more than the $5 million that is allowed to be taken out or to be brought into the country, the money recovered at Chirundu Border Post was insignificant, compared to the millions that had already flooded the Zambian side. The question posed to one security agent who accompanied us throughout our mission was how the money was finding its way out of the country with the heavy security and thorough searches at the border posts. His answer was simple. "A normal person who wants to smuggle a lot of cash cannot come through the border. It is not possible. "They use illegal entry and exit points, which are not being manned for several reasons,’’ he said. Why were these illegal points not manned if they are well known? "Well, we do not have the capacity to do so. These illegal points are bush paths, which are difficult to man. "The smugglers also carry out their activities at night when it is difficult to detect them,’’ he said. This reporter was shown three illegal points near Chirundu which are used by smugglers. At one such point along the Zambezi River, the path is well established, a sign that it is used frequently. Despite the steep slope that leads into the Zambezi River, the smugglers seem to know their way. At the riverbank was a canoe on the Zambian side waiting to be hired. The canoe was so small that it can only carry three people at a time. "At times we patrol this area in the afternoon and on several occasions we have seen our money floating in the middle of the river, a sign that the smugglers would have been disturbed by something,’’ said our security source. He said at one point they surprised a smuggler using the same point but he managed to escape when he dived into the crocodile-infested Zambezi River without fear. He swam all the way across the river into Zambia. He reportedly waved at the law enforcement agents and disappeared into Zambia. The second entry point, which is not manned, was about five kilometres from the border post up the Zambezi River. Thick bushes surround the point. Again on the Zambian side, a canoe was waiting for customers who usually come at night. It is alleged the canoe owners usually row their canoes onto the Zimbabwean side at night in anticipation of smugglers. On the day of our visit to the border, a Zimbabwean was reported to have used one of the canoes to smuggle more than a billion dollars of the new cheques in sealed packs. On arrival to the Zambian side he allegedly bought US dollars and rands, which he brought back home. The third illegal point was inaccessible with the security agent only pointing to us where the smugglers pass through. The illegal points are in sharp contrast to the intensity of the searches on the official border posts. A national youth service member who was searching one truck at the border post could be heard complaining that the process was tedious, as the trucks were too big and too many. "Can you imagine going through truck by truck with the long queues you see here. If we do that we will be able to clear only two trucks a day, which does not make sense,’’ he said. Questions have, however, been asked about the assumed integrity of certain categories of people who were not being subjected to the searches. Diplomats were cited as possible smugglers of the new currency. High-ranking Government officials were also not being given enough scrutiny. "When they pass through our borders, they are not searched. How then do we know what they will be carrying in their luggage? Mind you, these people are human beings as well,’’ said a security official. After observing events on the Zimbabwean side, we crossed into Zambia where the "Dollar Men" greeted us with the new bearer cheques. Asked how they got the new cheques, one of them boasted: "You ask that question now. If you want two billion of your new cheques I can give you. How much do you want?’’ The "Dollar Men" came to us waving the new cheques. All of them bragged about having already received the new cheques well before their introduction on the Zimbabwean market. How? "Payakabuda napo ndipo painodzokera napo. Ndinobanker mabearer cheques enyu iwaya eku- dhara ndiri kuno kuZambia (The money will always come to Zambia in the same way it has always come. I can bank your old notes while I am here in Zambia. You are wasting your resources by increasing border security because you will not stop this. The only way for you Zimbabweans to curb this is for your banks to increase the exchange rate well above the parallel market),’’ he said as he dashed to another Zimbabwean who had just crossed the border. His other explanation was that the huge amounts of money involved in the smuggling were a sign that "big" people could be involved. "Where do you think an ordinary Zimbabwean will get $2 billion to bring to Zambia? The man who came this morning with more than $1 billion is likely to be linked to high-profile people in your country. Go back and probe this,’’ said the Zambian national refusing to be identified. Security agents who had crossed into Zambia to investigate reports that more than $2 billion had already been taken to Zambia said the efforts had not yielded positive results. "We offered the Zambians US$1 000 to give us information but they demanded US$5 000. So you see how difficult it is when dealing with such people,’’ said one police officer who was on the mission. We drove to the other border post in Kariba where there was also tight security. Travellers could be heard complaining of the searches saying they felt they were being unfairly treated, as it was the "big wigs" who were involved in cash smuggling. "Surely, how can I be searched like that. They have gone through every part of my body. They are getting nothing from ordinary travellers,’’ said Mr Morgan Karingoro, who was coming from Zambia. Those travelling in buses were being asked to disembark carrying their luggage which was thoroughly searched. There were also cases of overzealous searches. A traveller, Antony Marera, complained of having his private parts exposed during the body searches. "Kundibisisa bhurugwa here ini murume mukuru? Ndicho chii ichocho? Vari kusiya vakuru vakuru vemaBenz vachipfuura nemari voti na- ngananga nesu varombo (Asking me to take off my trousers is the last thing I expected. They are leaving the big fish passing with loads of money in the boots of their Mercedes vehicles and they are harassing the poor),’’ he said. At Kariba, immigration and Zimra officials confirmed that the smuggling was being done through illegal entry points, as the border post was tight. "Mari iri kucrossa nemumvura. (Money is crossing through the Zambezi River and the Kariba Dam). This is mainly happening at night and there is nothing much we can do about it,’’ said one immigration officer who preferred not to be named. Illegal entry points were also spotted at the Kariba border area. There were no visible patrols.  
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp