On 07 August 2023, the World Customs Organization (WCO) announced that from 17 to 21 July, 2023 the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) had worked with a team of WCO-recognised integrity experts to draft an Integrity Action Plan for the service. The draft action plan is a necessary deliverable within the multi-year capacity-building support that ERS is receiving from the Sida-WCO TFCM Programme, and will enable it to implement the priority initiatives identified to promote good governance and integrity.
The WCO team, made up of two recognised experts from the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA), respectively, adopted a thorough and detailed methodology in accordance with the WCO Revised Integrity Development Guide (RIDG) to facilitate the joint work of ERS staff in clusters of four Working Groups to develop the Integrity Action Plan, which outlines the high-level activities and related performance targets, responsibility areas, time frame, and the expected outcomes. To ensure effective implementation of the planned action plan, the Sida-WC TFCM Programme will continue to mobilise the technical assistance for ERS action, and monitor the progress of implementation according to the agreed performance measurement criteria.
The WCO experts have worked with the ERS Working Groups to conduct the organisational integrity assessment based on the ten integrity strategy elements of the Revised Arusha Declaration (RAD), and a report of findings with recommendations has been submitted to the ERS Management for consideration.
The Commissioner General of ERS, Commissioner of Customs, the Director of Internal Affairs, and other members of the senior executive team demonstrated their high commitment towards the development of the action plan and were practically involved to provide guidance on how it could be effectively implemented. The visible and active involvement of ERS top leadership before and during the mission is testimony to the strong leadership commitment required to build a robust and sustainable Integrity and Anti-Corruption policy in ERS.