Smuggled Plants, Fruits A Threat To Food Security
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Monday February 15, 2016 15:46
A Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) workshop on bio-security heard last week that incidents of restricted fruits and plants smuggled into the country at border posts are putting the country at risk of an invasion of species of plants, diseases and pests.
Mogomotsi Moatswi, from the Plant Protection Department (Border Compliance) at MoA, stated that as a net importer of food items, Botswana is at high risk of attracting foreign animal and crop diseases and pests. He said that although in most cases people choose not to comply with customs and cross border trade laws, a lot needs to be done to inform traders as information do not reach them. He said some traders and transporters choose not to declare goods to customs officers some of which are prohibited.
He called for the establishment of bio-security structures because it helps to facilitate fair and safe trade as well as safeguard natural flora and fauna. He also said that bio-security structures help in the management of pest and disease.
“Botswana is still a baby when it comes to bio-security issues. That is why we still have cases of incidents of fruit-fly and Foot and Mouth disease. But with a proper bio-security structure we can eradicate pest and diseases,” he said.
He said that fragmented legislation and policies are also detrimental to enforcing penalties to perpetrators. Moatswi also called for the need to have officers at border posts with combined attained knowledge of the Animal Disease Control Act and Plant Protection Act.
Tlokweng Border Post principal customs officer Olebile Mokgwaela said that the entry point is one of the busiest in the country. He said that while government has tried by installing scanners at the border post, they continue to experience shortcomings because of insufficient resources. He said that this means some prohibited and restricted goods could pass without being thoroughly checked.
“We don’t have sufficient resources to search everything that goes through this place. But others use ungazetted entry points to smuggle in goods which are restricted,” he said.
However, Mokgwaela said that they are developing a system that will accommodate interests of all stakeholders including those who cannot be based at the border post.