Story by Providence Maraneli
PROVISION of decent accommodation to public servants dominated proceedings at the International Customs Day commemorations held in Beitbridge this Friday.
The commemorations which are meant to recognise the hard work of customs agents in maintaining government security and ensuring smooth flow of trade across borders coincided with the commissioning of Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) staff accommodation.
ZIMRA Commissioner General Mrs Regina Chinamasa said, “We are happy that we are moving in tandem with the development that is happening in Beitbridge, and we are cruising with mantra execution. It is marvellous that we can provide decent accommodation to our staff members.”
“We have a total establishment of 3065 employees and about 700 are here in Beitbridge, we saw it fit to move with modern trends to provide accommodation for the staff as you know, there has been massive development in Beitbridge since the modernisation,” said ZIMRA Board Chairperson, Mr Antony Mandiwanza.
Government says it is dedicated to providing decent accommodation to its workforce and the citizenry at large.
“I am impressed by the level of professionalism demonstrated by ZIMRA officials in terms of balancing trade and enforcing. I am happy that ZIMRA is trying to simplify and standardise border procedures for facilitating legitimate trade,” said the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Honourable Mthuli Ncube.
Meanwhile, Tsakani Flats, as the ZIMRA Flats are also known, will add to the Staff Village constructed under the US$300 million Beitbridge Border Modernisation Project.
The International Customs Day is commemorated on the 26th of January every year.