Namport has been appointed to manage the rollout of a Namibia National Single Window (NSW) solution to reduce the costs of doing business in Namibia by simplifying and speeding up administrative and customs procedures.This follows several attempts to attract a private investor.In 2018 Namport issued an expression of interest request for private companies for the “Supply, Installation, Operation and Financing of Namibia National Single Window (NSW) solution for International Trade Facilitation”.Then, in March 2021, the Namibian government bundled the NSW together with the concessioning of the Walvis Bay container terminal and development of a special economic zone in Walvis Bay into a single request for expression of interest. “It was the considered position that there were synergies amongst these three projects if they were rolled out concurrently and possibly simultaneously,” according to Andrew Kanime, the chief executive officer of the Namibian Ports Authority (Na mpor t).Interested parties were given the option of expressing interest in one or more of the projects.The feedback was that the market preferred carrying out the projects separately.Namport was then appointed to oversee the concessioning of the container terminal and management of the NSW process, according to Kanime.All stakeholders, including customs, shipping lines, agents and cargo owners are being consulted for the design and implementation of the single window, according to Elias Mwenyo, Namport executive: commercial services.The implementation of the single window is seen as holding the key to realising Namibia’s goal of establishing itself as the preferred SADC (Southern African Development Community) logistics hub. There are examples of successful implementation in the region and the rest of Africa.Ghana’s GCNet started operating in 2002 through a public-private partnership. In the first year customs revenue increased by 50%, while the time and cost of exporting reduced by 65%.Mozambique's Single Window was launched in 2011, providing a centralised platform to streamline and simplify the operation of customs and other government agencies involved in border control.It handles around 400 000 clearances per year – or 1 500 shipments a day, according to Mozambique customs.Other African countries with single windows include Madagascar, Congo, Cameroon, and Cote d’Ivoire.
