By Rex Mphisa
THE infamous “miracle money”, a fraudulent scam that defrauded the Customs and Excise Department of millions of dollars through fictitious crediting of bonds, is responsible for the numerous new controls introduced to stop leakages.
These include the closure of several bonds for shipping and allied companies and ongoing strict registration procedures.
This was said by Zimbabwe Revenue Authority Bonds supervisor Phineas Nyamunga at Beitbridge on Thursday.
He was addressing Beitbridge Shipping and Freight Fowarders agents during a workshop at the Beitbridge Customs House on Thursday.
The workshop touched several issues including new qualifications expected of shipping agents by June 30 this year.
Nyamunga said most agents at Beitbridge benefitted from “miracle money”, a scam by Zimbabwe Revenue Authority insiders.
The Zimra officers fictitiously credited several shipping agents bonds collecting cash from the same.
In the process Zimra was defrauded of several millions of dollars in duty when the clearing companies used the fictitious money to clear goods.
Hundreds of cars were cleared by funds from that scam which has resulted in the arrest of some officers and closure of bonds for companies that did not refund.
Criminal prosecutions are ongoing.
“It is that miracle money which has triggered a lot of these issues. Most of the companies that used miracle money are at Beitbridge,” said Nyamunga.
Hs said Beitbridge was seen as the “benchmark” of clearing work hence his office mission to inspect offices from where shipping agents were housed.
Nyamunga said many agents offices were embarrassing and did not meet set standards. Some agents did not even have offices and operated from “Honda Fit cars”.
“There are no signages and at one office the name of the company was written on a brick used as a door stopper,” said Nyamunga whose team inspected several agents offices.
He said shipping agents must brace for sweeping changes including the requirement to be a member of the Public Accountant and Auditor’s Board.
“As of now, at least by June 30, the directors of companies should have been registered by PAAB. From what I see there is no going back and people must work towards that,” he said.
The new development expects clearing agents to have qualifications that require a four year course in accounts at a university.
Shipping agents have been resisting the move saying they were properly registered under the Customs and Excise Act and required no degrees.
“We are contesting this through other avenues and soon we will be in courts,” an agent Brian Matura said.
Another clearing agent said the new measure was likely to undermine President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s mantra of leaving noone behind.
“The president (Mnangagwa), says noone will be left behind, Zimra is planning to leave us behind,” he said.
While it is said to be in another Act, shipping agents say the new development is shrouded in mystery and seems a long planned issue that will shut many companies leaving shipping to an elite few.