Border post policy must facilitate trade

Leonard Neill SOUTH AFRICA needs to develop an integrated national border post management policy, and co-ordinated discussions are required to make it happen, says Vuso Tshabalala, South African Revenue Service (SARS) general manager for customs. This will ensure streamlined border control and clear reporting lines for the management of ports of entry and exit, he told ParliamentÕs home affairs committee which is currently working on a new immigration bill. Customs and immigration functions are key instruments in enhancing economic development, he said, with more emphasis needed on the customs function. Imports last year totalled R217billion and exports amounted to R253billion, involving 700 000 bills of entry, which underlines the importance of border posts to the economic development of the country. "Traditionally, South Africa has followed an approach that overemphasised control. Any discussions on customs and immigration policies should take cognisance of the need to promote economic development, facilitate trade and maintain appropriate control over goods and people to protect the economy. "Although it is critical to focus on the control and security aspects of ports of entry, it is just as important to focus on the role of the ports of entry in promoting economic development through the facilitation of trade," he said. Tshabalala stated that three departmental clusters were concerned with border control, but discussions at senior official level had concentrated on the justice and crime prevention cluster, with the focus on control and operational issues. "The net result is that there is no integrated national border post management policy, and insufficient concern about imports and exports, and this is something we need to address urgently."