Zimra Pushes for Deeper African Customs Integration

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority demanded deeper African customs cooperation to dismantle trade barriers and accelerate economic growth, the Daily News reported. Zimra’s push targets harmonized procedures under the African Continental Free Trade Area, but implementation has stalled amid resistance, and progress has been glacial, with many nations erecting non-tariff barriers and resisting the loss of customs revenue. Zimbabwean exporters face delays and corruption at border posts, undermining competitiveness. The authority’s call faces headwinds from protectionist tendencies and bureaucratic inertia across the continent, frustrating efforts to boost intra-African trade. Harare’s trade-led recovery strategy is shackled to a continental framework that lacks enforcement teeth and political will, leaving its ambitions at the mercy of neighbors’ domestic politics and slow-moving bureaucracies.