THE COVID ADVENTURE CONTINUES - HYENAS OF THE LIMPOPO

Smuggling of cigarettes, contraband, vehicles, humans and equipment to and from Zimbabwe into South Africa through illegal crossing points along the Limpopo River has become a normal daily business, but increased dramatically from the beginning of April 2020 when South African lockdown regulations banned cigarette sales.

TOBACCO SALES WERE PROHIBITED between 25 March and 17 August 2020 as part of the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. In its entirety, the Beitbridge border stretches for 350-kilometres along a section of the Limpopo River that separates South Africa from Zimbabwe. Cross border informal businesses well established in Southern Africa are estimated to constitute 30 to 40 per cent of intra-regional trade.

Authorities estimate that around 30 percent of cigarettes sold in South Africa are smuggled from Zimbabwe. These include the Remington Gold, Pacific, Mega, Dullahs, Branson and Servilles brands. Mobile surveys reckon that during the ban between U$300 million U$500 million were lost in excise taxes on tobacco products while three hundred thousand jobs were lost.

Private security guards were deployed in an attempt to apprehend smugglers during Covid, that was until the mutilated body of a guard was thrown from a moving vehicle along a servitude road. Shortly after this the SA Government declared it to be illegal to have private security patrolling during curfew, stating that this job was the responsibility of the State security forces and police.