SMUGGLING is a major menace in Zimbabwe, hammering the collection of customs and excise duties which are needed for national development, having major economic effects in curbing the viability and growth of local industries and fuelling the flood of fake and sometimes toxic goods in local markets.
Smuggled goods may offer a cheap purchase, but their hidden cost can be paid through lost jobs, weaker factories and reduced government revenue. Tackling smuggling is essential to giving Zimbabwean businesses a fair chance to compete.
Local manufacturers pay wages, taxes, electricity bills and maintenance costs. Legitimate importers meet their customs obligations. Traders who evade duties gain an unfair advantage, undermining businesses that follow the rules.
The textile and blanket industry illustrate what is at stake. Warmth and adequate bedding are basic human needs, needed every night throughout the year. A blanket is an everyday household essential, and its local manufacture supports machine operators, machinists, packers, transporters and their families.
When smuggled products displace local production, the impact extends beyond the factory. Reduced orders can mean fewer shifts, lower household incomes and less business for local suppliers.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has emphasised the importance of domestic industry. Addressing the Zimbabwe Industrialisation Conference on 23 July 2026, he stated: “Ultimately, domestic manufacturing and new downstream industries should be established to create sustainable employment and export earnings.” He also called for stronger local procurement initiatives. Presidential address
This supports his stated ambition in the Vision 2030 foreword to transform Zimbabwe into a “knowledge driven and industrialising Upper Middle-Income Economy by 2030.” Protecting fair competition and expanding local production are practical steps towards that goal. Vision 2030
Informal traders can be valuable partners in this effort. By buying from local manufacturers and reselling within their communities, they can build profitable businesses while supporting Zimbabwean jobs. Smuggling is unnecessary for a trader to thrive. Manufacturers can strengthen these partnerships through competitive wholesale prices, manageable order quantities and reliable supply.
Government institutions and private companies should adopt and enforce procurement policies that prioritise genuine local manufacturers where they meet quality, capacity and value requirements. Buyers should verify where goods are made and favour direct factory purchasing over “briefcase” middlemen supplying imported products where suitable local alternatives exist. Legitimate distributors sourcing locally can also help manufacturers reach wider markets.
Consistent action against smuggling must go hand in hand with affordable, quality local products. Manufacturers must keep improving efficiency, while buyers—from individual traders to major institutions—can turn support for local industry into actual orders.
Every locally manufactured blanket sold can help sustain both a trader’s livelihood and a factory worker’s income. Those everyday purchasing decisions can help build the productive economy Zimbabwe needs.
Last year treasury has directed the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority to automatically forfeit all smuggled goods to the State with “no option to pay duty,” in a significant toughening of the anti-smuggling campaign.
In a directive dated November 12, 2025, Permanent Secretary for Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, George Guvamatanga, ordered that where the value of smuggled goods exceeds the payable duty, they must be seized permanently.
The move removed the previous discretion that sometimes-allowed importers to settle their customs duty bills and reclaim confiscated items.
The directive cites Sections 188 and 193 of the Customs and Excise Act, which provide for the seizure of illegal goods and the vehicles used to transport them.
“Whilst Treasury appreciates the progress made so far on the anti-smuggling campaign, there is a need for the Authority to increase public awareness campaigns on the dangers of smuggling and the consequences thereof,” Guvamatanga said then
This forceful stance from the Treasury was later underscored by ZIMRA Commissioner General, Regina Chinamasa.
In a separate communication, she confirmed that the Government had “promulgated legislation declaring all imported goods without clearance papers as deemed smuggled.”
Chinamasa also defended ZIMRA’s enforcement strategy, including the use of roadblocks on major traffic corridors, as a necessary measure against non-compliance.
“Enforcement and roadblocks are a mitigation to the noncompliance,” she said. “Our detection rate is still too high, hence the continued enforcement in collaboration with other government stakeholders.”
She specified that ZIMRA maintains a presence on key routes such as Beitbridge to Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, Beitbridge to Harare and Chirundu, Plumtree to Harare, and Forbes to Harare, despite some not being official border posts.
“Gwanda is not a border post, but ZIMRA has a footprint along the traffic corridors to ensure effective enforcement of fiscal laws,” Chinamasa clarified, emphasising that importers are expected to declare goods and pay duties at the borders.
The combined communications from the Treasury and ZIMRA signal a hardened, zero-tolerance government approach to smuggling, with the new automatic forfeiture rule representing a major financial risk for those caught flouting customs laws.