The Port of Walvis Bay and Namibia’s hinterland corridor to Ndola and Lubumbashi continue to attract growing interest for the transit of cargo destined for Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).Most countries have statutory requirements when it comes to the documentation that should accompany import and export cargo, says Dornay Swartz, chief project manager at Africa Union Cargo.For the DRC, one such requirement is that all shipments with that country as a final destination be accompanied by a Fiche Électronique de Renseignement à l’Importation (FERI) Certificate.This serves to ensure that the correct cargo clearances are undertaken at the final DRC port of importation.The Office of Multimodal Freight Management (OGEFREM) is a state entity entrusted by the DRC government with managing the FERI Certificate regime and supporting quality assurance for all imports and exports.Africa Union Cargo Namibia (AUCN) has, since 2018, been a partner to and agent for OGEFREM.“With a new contract signed in June 2022, AUCN is now positioned to support and issue all types of FERI Certificates, from all origin points and via any African transit port,” says Swartz.This covers all modes of transport: maritime, rail, road and air as well as the Continues Destination Certificate.With its headquarters in Walvis Bay, regional offices in South Africa and Zambia, additional offices in Dubai and Beijing, as well as an established partner network, AUCN has geared itself to offer seamless FERI Certification services to all importers, freight forwarders and stakeholders that are mandated to apply for the relevant certificates.“In keeping with cloud-based technology and artificial intelligence,” says Swartz, “AUCN now also embraces the ethos of providing a service that allows the cargo owners and their partners to focus on their core business.”The Walvis Bay team offers a personal touch, supported by robust online tools that effectively allow for real-time tracking of any application, no matter where it’s submitted from.“It is our goal to ease our customers’ workload and personally work with them to offer the best solution for all FERI-related matters,” says Swartz.“We can offer organisations personal account management, online-based, as well as mobile and telephonic support – 24/7.“One such ongoing innovation is to do away with application forms and offer a seamless ‘drop your files’ process that reduces the time clients spend on administrative processes.”All importers are strongly encouraged to ensure they have all the required documents for the DRC, including the FERI Certificates.AUCN says it welcomes all stakeholders to visit its website at www.aucnamibia.com to view first-hand the services on offer and experience how it can “ease issuing your FERI Certificate.”
