By Japhet Munkondya
Nakonde–Government through the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has secured resources to put up an ultramodern enforcement centre along the Kasama-Mbala road in Northern Province.
ZRA Commissioner General Dingani Banda said the construction of the enforcement centre will help curb all illegal activities that happen by people using this road.
He said ZRA has realised that smugglers have taken advantage of the few or lack of officers on the Nakonde-Kasama to engage in smuggling.
Mr Banda disclosed the development at a press briefing held at the Nakonde Boarder Post in Nakonde District.
Mr Banda said the authority will soon engage the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) to explore ways in which the two institutions can exchange information on goods carried by rail in a streamlined manner.
He said this is aimed at mitigating revenue leakages and help to safeguard local industries.
He said these measures will significantly help to improve international trade facilitation through the Nakonde One Stop Border Post and the Northern Region in general.
And Mr Banda has remained hopeful that ZRA will achieve its goals of having a non-stop border post once the Smart Corridor is fully operational in Zambia.
He said government has already started addressing some of the challenges ZRA is facing by ensuring that the effective collection of revenue is enhanced.
Mr Banda said some of the measures government is undertaking include the World Bank-supported Trade Corridor for Economic Resilience (TRACER) project at a total cost of $260 million, which will see the upgrade of the Nakonde One Stop Border and also support the implementation of the smart corridor from south to northern Zambia.
Mr Banda said government through ZRA, is also streamlining the traffic flow and installing a new scanner by trademark, to be done by the end of 2024.
And Mr Banda later hosted his Tanzanian counterpart, Alphayo Japan Kidata, in Nakonde, where they discussed several issues on how to improve revenue collections in the two countries.
And Mr Kidata said there is a need for the two countries to start actualizing phase two of the customs electronic data exchange.
He also commended the Zambian governments for its commitment to ensuring the upgrade of operations at the Zombe border post.
Mr Kidata said the Nakonde One Stop Border has been congested with traffic, and the operationalization of the Zombe border post will be a very good relief.
ENDS
