At visit to Beitbridge post, Zimbabwe: Customs DG recommits to strengthen border security with one-stop model.

This was during a benchmarking mission to the Beitbridge Border Post on the Zimbabwe-South Africa border. Cameroon's delegation was led by the Director General and included officials from the Customs Main House at Ekok, the Studies Unit and the Information Technology Division.

The visit, which took place from July 23 to 27, 2026, brought together customs chiefs from Cameroon, Nigeria and Benin at the invitation of the African Export-Import Bank, Afreximbank.

According to information published by the Directorate General of Customs, the mission was hosted by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, ZIMRA, as part of efforts to strengthen intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA.

Customs revealed that during the mission, the delegation studied operations at Beitbridge, regarded as the busiest land border crossing in Southern Africa, to assess how its management model could be adapted to strategic trade corridors linking West and Central Africa.

Officials said the visit specifically targeted trade facilitation along the Sèmè-Kraké corridor connecting Nigeria and Benin and the Mfum-Ekok corridor linking Nigeria and Cameroon. Customs authorities said the visit followed positive findings from an advance technical mission involving experts from Cameroon, Benin and Nigeria.

According to Customs, the lessons from Beitbridge are relevant to the continued development of the Mfum-Ekok Joint Border Post. The Directorate General of Customs stated that further modernisation and adaptation of border management procedures at Mfum-Ekok could help increase commercial exchanges with African markets within the AfCFTA framework.

Authorities also expect improved border operations to facilitate the movement of goods and people, strengthen border security and enhance revenue mobilisation.

At the end of the mission, the customs leaders of Cameroon, Nigeria and Benin signed a joint communiqué committing to replicate Zimbabwe’s Beitbridge Border Post model in West and Central Africa. 

This, in a bid to promoting the development and effective operation of coordinated border management systems and One-Stop Border Posts at key trade gateways within their respective countries. The initiative, they said, is expected to begin with corridors carrying the largest share of trade flows between West Africa and Central Africa.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3864 of Friday July 31, 2026