‘Customs administrations must adapt or die’

Several African countries are modernising their customs legislation in line with the revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) in order to modernise and facilitate trade. According to Reginald Moyo, general manager of training provider GLMS, the RKC is, however, not the only global instrument that is driving trade facilitation and modernisation agendas on the continent. “The Bali Agreement, which includes provisions for lowering import tariffs and agricultural subsidies with the intention of making it easier for developing countries to trade with the developed world in global markets, was adopted in December 2013 and has also made an impact,” he said. “A key target of the agreement was specifically to reform customs bureaucracies and formalities in order to facilitate trade.” GMLS is delivering comprehensive knowledge solutions in both its training and consulting portfolios to various customs administrations and private sector organisations in the southern African, East and West African regions in line with these global developments, Moyo told FTW. “Customs training plays a crucial role in Africa. Customs administrations in the African space will have to ‘adapt or die’ as the implementation or nonimplementation of these agreements will directly impact economic competitiveness and performance in the long run,” he said. At any given time the company is involved in training more than 900 people across the continent. It most recently delivered risk management training to the Ghana Revenue Authority and has also been working with corporate giant the South African Breweries. “Customs has come under the spotlight in Africa and we are seeing an increased need for training. Internationally this is the trend as the role of customs authorities has changed significantly – mainly due to the growth in world trade and the security concerns that have arisen,” he explained. “Customs and excise administrations, being the controlling authorities over the first point of entry and the last point of exit across borders, have traditionally been responsible for enforcing control over imported and exported goods, often on behalf of other government departments. But the different approaches by different countries have seen organisations such as the World Trade Organisation and the World Customs Organisation working towards developing global standards.” Moyo said with the advent of trade facilitation – the industry’s newest buzzword – there was a renewed drive towards the efficient implementation of trade rules and regulations harmoniously across regions. “A lot has been said about how Africa in general lags ‘behind’ in comparison to the rest of the world in many aspects such as political, social and economic development and transformation. Likewise a multitude of divergent and often impassioned opinions have been expressed as to what the root causes of Africa’s challenges are,” he said. “Regardless of whatever views one holds, the fact is that Africa is changing for the better, Africa is growing faster and stronger than any other economic region outside of China.” CAPTION Mark Goodger at UTi … at any given time GMLS is involved in training more than 900 people across the continent.