By Reagan Malumo
KATIMA MULILO
A joint operation by Customs and Excise and police at Katima Mulilo seized 315 bags of maize (each weighing 50 kilogrammes) worth N$70 000.
The joint operation was intended to prevent rising illegal cross-border trade.
The operation was conducted following a tip-off.
Zambia has, in recent years, recorded bumper harvests.
During the operation, a vehicle was found loading 15 bags of maize on the banks of the Zambezi River. According to Customs and Excise Control Officer for North Eastern Regions, Willboard Poniso, the owner of the vehicle was penalised and fined.
The maize is alleged to have been illegally ferried from Zambia at an undesignated entry point and transported to a selling point where the farmers were to sell the maize last Monday passing it as locally
produced.
All the maize, which was supposed to be sold, was seized and a maize auction was called off.
A joint committee of the Namibia Agronomic Board, Customs and Excise and the police verified that the maize was from Zambia.
Poniso warned that maize is a controlled product that required an import permit from the Namibian Agronomic Board and a phytosanitary certificate to prove that the maize is free from disease.
He said it is therefore prohibited to import maize and sell it in Namibia without following the required procedures.
Poniso said it is suspec-ted that large grain borers affect some neighbouring states and once transmitted to Namibia could have a detrimental effect on the agricultural sector.
Hence it is the duty of Customs and Excise officials to protect society with regard to the importation of goods into the country. Though the fate of the maize is yet to be determined, Poniso was optimistic that all the illegal maize would be destroyed.
In another incident, 865 pirated DVDs with an estimated value of N$30 000 and hundreds of duplicated shoes were confiscated from local business people. Most of the goods came from Chinese shops. This follows an anti-piracy workshop conducted by Customs and Excise at the town last week.
According to Customs and Excise Public Relations Officer, Susan Beukes, the workshop was the third of its kind.
“We came to Katima because we got information that business people there were selling pirated products especially DVDs”.
Beukes challenged the affected businesspeople to come forth and prove beyond reasonable doubt that the products were genuine.
She said although it was discovered that some of the products such as shoes carried labels such as Nike, Puma and Adidas, their make was actually not authentic and original.
She said a trend has emerged, especially among some Chinese shop owners, of allegedly buying one original DVD and then ma-king thousands of copies.