FTW pick: More one-stop border posts on the cards

The South African Revenue Service (Sars) is currently negotiating with its Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) partners to introduce more one-stop-border posts (OSBPs) in the region.



Penny Bologo, Sars executive: customs operations, said that OSBPs – such as Lebombo-Ressano Garcia on the Mozambique/SA border – had proven successful in facilitating trade in the region.



“We can’t say yet where we plan to introduce new OSBPs but we are negotiating with several of our Sacu partners,” she told FTW on the side lines of the Logistics Business Breakfast, hosted by the Southern African Shippers and Logistics Council (SASTALC) and the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) last week. Sars group executive: customs operations, Rae Cruickshank, was in Maputo last week to negotiate another OSBP, she said. “Zambia is also on the cards.”



Barbara Mommen, CEO of the Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative (MCLI), commented during a panel discussion that the single electronic window (SEW) system implemented at the Lebombo-Ressano Garcia OSBP had resulted in numerous benefits, including enabling the pre-clearance of documentation, reducing (by more than half) the number of documents required for customs clearance and removing the “human interface” element which cut down on bribery and corruption at the border.



“However, there are still aspects which delay cargo clearance and have added costs that need to be taken into account when designing an SEW system,” she said.



To read the full FTW article, click here.