Zimbabweans are smuggling explosives to South Africa for use in blowing up automated teller machines (ATMs) in the neighbouring country.
This was said by Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo during a high-level National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) steering committee meeting held in Harare on Thursday. She said:
Recently explosives were also smuggled from Zimbabwe to South Africa and during (a recent) meeting I was made to understand that the explosives were used to hit ATMs (automated teller machines) in South Africa. We cannot show such a lack of humanity as Zimbabweans.
Matanda-Moyo said she went to South Africa recently where she met officials from that country’s police service and the special investigations unit.
She said it was perplexing that Zimbabweans were being caught with contraband in South Africa. Said Matanda-Moyo:
The South African authorities are always arresting Zimbabweans who would have crossed the borders with smuggled goods.
How is that happening? Why are they not caught on the Zimbabwean side? We really need to introspect.
The porosity of our borders is also causing the country to lose resources.
Recently, our gold was forfeited in South Africa. Cigarettes are also being forfeited.
The NACS steering committee is composed of key ministries such as the Finance, Home Affairs, Justice and government institutions such as ZACC, the National Prosecuting Authority, Zimbabwe Republic Police, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Financial Intelligence Unit, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, Auditor-General and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, among others. | NewsDay