A MAJOR reform of the utterly corrupt and inefficient Customs Department in Mozambique is about to get underway, under the guidance of the British Crown Agents' institutional development group.
This tip-off was given to FTW by Ian Davidson, local representative of Deutsche Afrika- Linien (DAL), and an authority on Mozambican affairs.
Crown Agents have been awarded the contract to refurbish the Mozambique customs, he told FTW, with some 70 officials from other countries coming in to improve their levels of efficiency, and maximise customs' revenue. In a country where customs' competence has been a joke for years, and their integrity non-existent, this type of reform could be a life-saver for an economy which has been battered into submission by decades of internal strife. This sent us scurrying-off to contact Lindsay McInnes, SA representative of Crown Agents. I am not empowered to talk on this subject, she told FTW, but contact our London head office, and they will give you the information you need. And that they did.
According to Stanley Adamson, press officer for Crown Agents in London, the customs reform procedure is a three-year project being funded by the Mozambican government - with support from a number of international donors, including the World Bank and the British Overseas Development Administration.
The project, he said, which we will undertake in association with Her Majesty's Customs & Excise, promises a thorough reform of this sector of the Mozambican economy. The scheme will involve over 50 long-term specialists being based in Mozambique, with the support of up-to 20 short-term specialists for specific legal, financial and administrative inputs.
The inception phase - about to begin - is being done in close co-operation with the Mozambique government and the donor community.
Said Adamson: The immediate objective is to create a suitable environment for the project to operate in, leading to early increases in revenue yields. The team will address organisational, procedural and training issues, which will lead to improvement in the control of imports and exports. It will also ensure the collection of the appropriate taxes and duties. The Crown Agents task force also has plans to combat smuggling - which is rife in-and-through Mozambique - and the host of other illegal practices which bedevil the movement of international freight in this country.
In what Adamson describes as a strong emphasis on trade facilitation, the conditions for commerce and international trade in Mozambique are expected to improve - which Crown Agents foresee as increasing government revenue from taxes and duties still further.
To ensure these results will be sustained beyond the lifetime of the project, Adamson told FTW, the team is to develop the customs department's capacity through the introduction of new procedures, appropriate technology and a systematic programme of human resource development and training. Alan Peat
