S.Africa-Zimbabwe border closed over import protests

By John Cassim

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AA) – Zimbabwe’s border with South Africa was closed for most of Friday, and the area suffered major property damage when angry residents from both sides protested Harare’s decision to heavily restrict imports of various items, including groceries.

During the protest at the Beitbridge border post – the only crossing between the two countries – that started in early in the day, at least 40 vehicles were damaged and a warehouse holding goods confiscated from smugglers was burned down.

Eyewitnesses at the region’s busy border post confirmed that it was the import restrictions on basic commodities – including food, building materials, furniture, toiletries, and cooking oil, among other items – that sparked the riots.

“They say we can no longer import basic groceries from South Africa to Zimbabwe when most of us rely on such imports and resell them in our shops on the Zimbabwean side,” Beitbridge resident Tatenda Mutsvairo, 35, told the Anadolu Agency in a telephone interview.

Another Beitbridge resident, Mercy Phiri, said, “The new law restricts us from importing basic items which I depend on back in Zimbabwe.”

The new Zimbabwean law says that importation of goods such as groceries, furniture, and building material now requires an import permit.

In a country with more than 80 percent unemployment, informal trading is the only means of survival, triggering the influx of millions of Zimbabweans to neighboring South Africa, where they order goods for resell.

Although the border remained closed for most of the day, it was eventually opened in the afternoon but the situation remained volatile, restricting travelers from crossing.