A national online single-window system (NSW) for customs declaration in South Africa may not be as out of reach as some public-sector critics claim, a cargo clearing expert has commented after it was reported that other government agencies (OGAs) are still mired in manual processes.
According to Easy Clear general manager, Michael Henning, not all OGAs are lagging behind digitally.
“Some are far ahead and stepping in tune with Sars (the South African Revenue Service).
He said the Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB) was one such OGA, and had even rolled out road shows “to bring awareness to their platform”.
PPECB efforts to keep pace with Sars included training in digitally submitting letters of notification and other documentation to the board, he said.
Henning added that the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) was another OGA “that is up there from a digital perspective and which has been testing its systems along with Sars”.
He said that although the private sector initially didn’t understand why Sars had chosen the DALRRD for pilot testing of NSW services, it seemed to have been the right decision.
“There’s a lot to be said for OGAs like the PPECB and DALRRD. It’s also encouraging to see Sars and industry collaborating to move the single-window process forward through the Border Management Authority (BMA). It’s the right thing to do.”
Collaborating across public-private-sector boundaries was the best way to overcome challenges in the technologically advanced field of NSW services, said Henning.
Referring to Monday’s article, ‘Customs modernisation leaves OGAs behind’, he said it was indeed true that OGAs like the National Regulator of Compulsory Specifications and National Consumer Commission were lagging behind in digital requirements needed for single-window processes.
“It’s not impossible to implement a single-window system in South Africa. But we could only do it through private-sector collaboration with authorities like Sars and the BMA.”
