Zambia battles with Zimbabweans
2007-08-05 19:46
Special Report
A classical music presenter for the BBC has been arrested and is in custody in Zimbabwe.
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 spiraling 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.
The government of President Robert Mugabe imposed sweeping price cuts of up to 50% 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.
Zimbabwe's official Sunday Mail newspaper said on Sunday however that the legislation had been repealed because it had led to too much "confusion."
The newspaper, a government mouthpiece, also warned of worse times ahead.
- SAPA