Zambia reports increase in Zimbabwean shoppers

LUSAKA – Zambian immigration authorities are struggling to cope with a sudden upsurge in Zimbabweans crossing the border to shop for basic products as the economic crisis in their home country bites deeper.

The immigration department in the southern border city of Livingstone said the number of Zimbabweans crossing into Zambia daily had risen from 60 to 1 000, with long lines forming at the border post every day. Immigration Public Relations Officer, Mulako Mbangweta, said they feared the situation was spiralling out of control in Livingstone – a tourist hub because of the nearby Victoria Falls.”We now fear the security risks that can be posed by this swollen influx,” Mbangweta said.She said most people crossed into Zambia to buy goods such as bread, corn flour and milk that are now unavailable in Zimbabwe and then returned home.South Africa and Botswana also have an upsurge in cross-border shopping.Mbangweta gave no estimates of the number of Zimbabweans sneaking into Zambia illegally and staying.But there is mounting concern among Zimbabwe’s neighbours that they will be swamped with destitute refugees as Zimbabwe’s crisis worsens.Aziz Pahad, South African deputy foreign minister, on Thursday voiced alarm at predictions by the International Monetary Fund that Zimbabwe’s inflation may hit 100 000 per cent by the end of the year.He said that neighbouring countries “will not be able to sustain the levels of refugees.”There are an estimated 3 million Zimbabweans in South Africa, most of them illegally.Farmers on South Africa’s northern border have started a vigilante campaign against the illegal immigrants, accusing them of theft and of scaring away foreign tourists in game lodges along the border.The Zimbabwe government of President Robert Mugabe imposed sweeping price cuts of up to 50 per cent in June to tame runaway inflation.But that has merely increased already widespread shortages.The government had drafted new legislation to limit the amount of products including cooking oil, flour and beef that Zimbabweans could import.This would have cut an increasingly important lifeline to desperate Zimbabweans.It also would have banned the import of eggs, fish, fertiliser, full cream milk powder and skimmed milk powder, potatoes, sugar and wheat flour, among other “controlled” goods.Zimbabwe’s official Sunday Mail newspaper said Sunday that the legislation has been repealed because it had led to too much “confusion.”The newspaper, a government mouthpiece, also warned of worse times ahead.It said that experts expected the wheat harvest to be the worst in years, below the 78 000 tonnes harvested last year and far short of the target 340 000 tonnes because of electricity shortages, which prevented farmers from irrigating the crop.”In some areas farmers could go for four consecutive days without electricity.It became impossible to irrigate and complete the required cycles, resulting in the crop wilting,” the president of the Zimbabwe Indigenous Commercial Farmers Union, Wilson Nyabonda, told the newspaper.The World Food Programme appealed last week for US$118 million to help more than 3.3 million Zimbabweans – more than a quarter of the population – facing severe food shortages.A 57-year-old Zimbabwean woman, Selina Nkhoma of Victoria Falls Town, said she had no choice but to shop in Zambia.”Zambians should not be annoyed with us.We are only coming here to buy goods which are not available in our country in order to survive,” said the mother of seven.Immigration official Mbangweta said she was worried about the numbers of people.”We foresee a situation where there will be a lot of people on the streets such that we may face problems if people continue coming in such large numbers,” she said.Nampa-APImmigration Public Relations Officer, Mulako Mbangweta, said they feared the situation was spiralling out of control in Livingstone – a tourist hub because of the nearby Victoria Falls.”We now fear the security risks that can be posed by this swollen influx,” Mbangweta said.She said most people crossed into Zambia to buy goods such as bread, corn flour and milk that are now unavailable in Zimbabwe and then returned home.South Africa and Botswana also have an upsurge in cross-border shopping.Mbangweta gave no estimates of the number of Zimbabweans sneaking into Zambia illegally and staying.But there is mounting concern among Zimbabwe’s neighbours that they will be swamped with destitute refugees as Zimbabwe’s crisis worsens.Aziz Pahad, South African deputy foreign minister, on Thursday voiced alarm at predictions by the International Monetary Fund that Zimbabwe’s inflation may hit 100 000 per cent by the end of the year.He said that neighbouring countries “will not be able to sustain the levels of refugees.”There are an estimated 3 million Zimbabweans in South Africa, most of them illegally.Farmers on South Africa’s northern border have started a vigilante campaign against the illegal immigrants, accusing them of theft and of scaring away foreign tourists in game lodges along the border.The Zimbabwe government of President Robert Mugabe imposed sweeping price cuts of up to 50 per cent in June to tame runaway inflation.But that has merely increased already widespread shortages.The government had drafted new legislation to limit the amount of products including cooking oil, flour and beef that Zimbabweans could import.This would have cut an increasingly important lifeline to desperate Zimbabweans.It also would have banned the import of eggs, fish, fertiliser, full cream milk powder and skimmed milk powder, potatoes, sugar and wheat flour, among other “controlled” goods.Zimbabwe’s official Sunday Mail newspaper said Sunday that the legislation has been repealed because it had led to too much “confusion.”The newspaper, a government mouthpiece, also warned of worse times ahead.It said that experts expected the wheat harvest to be the worst in years, below the 78 000 tonnes harvested last year and far short of the target 340 000 tonnes because of electricity shortages, which prevented farmers from irrigating the crop.”In some areas farmers could go for four consecutive days without electricity.It became impossible to irrigate and complete the required cycles, resulting in the crop wilting,” the president of the Zimbabwe Indigenous Commercial Farmers Union, Wilson Nyabonda, told the newspaper.The World Food Programme appealed last week for US$118 million to help more than 3.3 million Zimbabweans – more than a quarter of the population – facing severe food shortages.A 57-year-old Zimbabwean woman, Selina Nkhoma of Victoria Falls Town, said she had no choice but to shop in Zambia.”Zambians should not be annoyed with us.We are only coming here to buy goods which are not available in our country in order to survive,” said the mother of seven.Immigration official Mbangweta said she was worried about the numbers of people.”We foresee a situation where there will be a lot of people on the streets such that we may face problems if people continue coming in such large numbers,” she said.Nampa-AP