BEITBRIDGE BORDER FACES CLOSURE Man loses R200k, car in botched forex deal
…as woman loses $16 000 in bank card fraud
ZIMBABWE’S biggest port of entry, Beitbridge Border Post which borders the country with South Africa, risks being closed next week after workers in the neighbouring country’s Home Affairs Department, including immigration officers gave notice to go on strike and down tools over overtime pay.
The Federation of Unions of South Africa and Public Servants Association served that country’s Department of Home Affairs with a notice to go on strike from 19 June after a stalemate over the issue of overtime pay when the workers work on Saturday.
The employees are demanding payment, instead of days off, for working on Saturdays but South African Government is arguing that it would incur a serious budget shortfall if it were to accede to demands of workers’ unions.
Zimbabwean officials are however, optimistic that the South African Home Affairs Department and its workers will reach an agreement to avert the strike.
South African PSA’s acting general manager Mr Tahir Maepa, was quoted as saying the job action will result in no movement between South Africa and other countries.
“This means that 75 percent of our members will be going on strike and this will result in no movement between any other countries and South Africa,” he said.
If the no movement is effected as stated by the union leaders, it means Beitbridge will be closed for the day posing serious movement problems not only for Zimbabwe but for the rest of the region. Beitbridge handles more than 3 500 vehicles and 9 000 people on average on a daily basis.
The number of people can soar to 25 000 per day during holidays.
South Africa is also Zimbabwe’s biggest trading partner and most goods traded between the two countries pass through the border post. Apart from Zimbabwe, the border also serves as a gateway to goods coming from countries north of Zimbabwe destined for South Africa and vice-versa.
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee chairperson on Foreign Affairs Cde Kindness Paradza said if the strike goes ahead, it will have far reaching effects, not only on Zimbabwe but other countries.
He said the closure of the border post will cost billions of dollars to a number of countries that rely on the port of entry for trade.
“The Beitbridge Border Post is the busiest port of entry in Sub-Sahara Africa. So the strike will not only affect Zimbabwe but other countries north of Zimbabwe. It will cost billions of dollars, not only to Zimbabwe but other countries as well,” he said. Cde Paradza expressed hope that the strike will be averted. “From our view as the foreign affairs relations committee, we feel the South African Home Affairs Department should resolve this matter amicably,” he said.
Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister for Home Affairs Cde Obedingwa Mguni said he was optimistic South Africa will handle the situation and avoid the worst case scenario where the border will be closed. He said the Zimbabwean Government was not fretting over the strike.
“We can’t press the panic button yet. South African laws are as good as ours and do not allow immigration and customs officials and police to go on strike. The strike may only go as far as a go slow. In any case we are optimistic the South African government will deal with the matter amicably,” he said.
Cross border traders, most of who buy goods in South Africa for resale in Zimbabwe will be the hardest hit by the strike, while some local retailers will also be affected.
Although Zimbabwe Cross Border Traders Association president Dr Killer Zivhu could not be reached for a comment, it is estimated the association has more than 7 000 members use the border post to cross into South Africa.
Over the years there have also been an increase in the number of transport operators plying between the two countries, a sign of the growing number of people travelling through the border. A BULAWAYO man on Thursday lost 200 000 rand and his car in a botched money exchange deal after he was lured to a house in North End suburb where the “deal” was supposed to take place but two robbers pounced on him and got away with the cash and the car, police confirmed yesterday.
National police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said at around 4pm, the man was called by an unknown woman who purported to have been sent by a woman based in the United Kingdom to change money from the United States dollars to rand.
The woman invited the man to a house in North End where the transaction was supposed to take place.
“Acting on the information, the complainant went to the said address where two unknown adults attacked and robbed him of ZAR200 000 and drove off with the man’s Toyota Ist registration number ADV 8028,” said Snr Asst Comm Charamba.
Snr Asst Comm Charamba said in a related case that happened on the same day, a woman lost $16 133,85 when thieves stole her bank card and made several purchases at various shops in Bulawayo within a few hours.
Snr Asst Comm Charamba said the woman had sent her daughter to pay a DSTV subscription using her bank card.
“The complainant then received text messages of various transactions which had been made in shops in Bulawayo on her cellphone. She later received a call from the bank advising that her daughter had just reported that her bank card had been stolen together with her cellphone in which the card pin had been saved. Total defrauded is $16 133,85 and nothing was recovered.”
Snr Asst Charamba members of the public to be alert and not to disclose their pin numbers to anyone as they can end up losing a lot of cash.
“They should not write down their pin numbers on pieces of paper or save them Comm urged in cellphones as these may fall in the wrong hands,” she said. Snr Asst Comm Charamba also warned members of the public to desist from engaging in illicit deals which end up exposing them to dangers and loss of valuable assets. “Individuals and corporates should conduct transactions through financial institutions,” she said. The cases come at a time police have also reported that cases of card cloning in Bulawayo have increased where criminals duplicate people’s bank cards and then make withdrawals. The victims only come to know about the crime after receiving text messages confirming successful transactions or later when they are told that they do not have sufficient funds in their accounts. Bulawayo is also home to a number of money changers, known as osiphatheleni who are always in possession of large sums of money. Some of the money changers have fallen prey to thieves in the past few days.