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A day in the life of a Zimbabwean cross-border trader
African Press Agency
August 17, 2007

Harare (Zimbabwe) The queue at Beitbridge border post in Southern Zimbabwe snaked for nearly 500 metres as Zimbabweans waited patiently to clear immigration formalities so that they could enter South Africa.

The South African officials appeared to be in no hurry as the queue moved at a snail's pace, while the number of Zimbabweans continued to swell.

There were close to 700 other people ahead of us on that chilly August midnight, but by the time we finally cleared the immigration formalities four hours later, the number had increased to 1,500.

This is the story of the daily tribulations of Zimbabweans who leave their home country in droves to make forays into neighbouring countries in search of either better economic fortunes or groceries.

It is estimated that close to 5,000 Zimbabweans cross into Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia daily to escape economic hardships at home.

While some of the people making the great trek into neighbouring states do not have proper documents and use uncharted entry points, the bulk of those leaving are bonafide travelers, driven by a desire to fend for their families back home.

Most of the travelers are Zimbabwean informal cross-border traders who sell their wares in South Africa and return with groceries either for their own consumption or for resale back home.

After clearing the border formalities, the journey to the South African commercial capital, Johannesburg, was not easy either.

Police had mounted roadblocks to flush out illegal Zimbabwean immigrants.

The illegal immigrants bribe their way through at the border but often encounter problems when they come across roadblocks along the way.

Companies in the country's neighbours are making brisk business out of the Zimbabwean plight because the Zimbabweans tend to buy more than most of the locals.

Figures from Statistics South Africa showed that in 2006 Zimbabweans were among the largest spenders in that country, pumping 2.2 billion rands (US$324.3 million) into that economy.

The favourite purchases are goods in short supply at home such as cooking oil, sugar, washing soap, milk and, lately, beef.

From time to time one would see cars carrying unconventional purchases such as old bicycles and used furniture.

Besides the benefits to business, the unresolved Zimbabwean crises have been taking a toll on neighbouring economies. Inflation in South Africa and Botswana have been rising, a development observers blame on the high demand by Zimbabweans.

Southern Africa's main fear is the contagion effect of President Robert Mugabe's policies on their own countries and the region.

Zimbabwe is currently the third most risky country in the world, ranked marginally better than Myanmar, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit of the UK.

Excluding Zimbabwe, the average rate of inflation for the SADC region is pegged at 17.3 percent.

Zimbabwe currently has the highest inflation rate in the world, officially estimated at more than 4,500 per cent in May. Independent estimates put the rate of change in Zimbabwean prices at as high as 20,000 per cent.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has even warned that Zimbabwe's inflation could breach the 100,000 per cent by year-end unless drastic action was taken to arrest the economic decline.

There are also concerns about the effects of Zimbabwe on the rest of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in light of the imminent launch next year of the SADC free trade area and a Customs Union, and the various targets the member states have set for themselves ahead of the launch.

The targets include single-digit inflation and budget deficit for all member states by 2008.

These targets could prove quite a tall order for the Harare authorities whose penchant for populist and often ill-conceived policies is widely documented.

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