MBABANE – Eswatini (Swaziland) shippers laid out their customs and border challenges, particularly with regard to perishable and hazardous cargoes, at interactive meetings set up with the business community by a visiting team from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) last week.
“Unctad went directly to the users, the businesses who import and export, and asked ‘How has the implementation of WTO trade articles helped you?” Musa Maseko, trade and business support coordinator for the Federation of Swaziland Employers/Chamber of Commerce, told FTW.
In meetings facilitated by the Swaziland Revenue Authority (SRA), business people were quizzed on what more needed to be done to move goods in and out of the country, Maseko said.
“What we heard was a need to speed up clearance for perishables. This is especially important with summer upon us. Let perishables move through the borders right away and have a system in place to let customs payments be processed later. That was one issue raised by shippers but there are others, like quickening the issuance of clearances for hazardous materials,” Maseko said.
Eswatini imports 90% of its goods and all of its oil, mostly be road, with more than 80% of goods originating in South Africa.
