Zambian agents voice concern over new bond scheme

Zambian clearing and forwarding agents have appealed to the country’s Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry to think carefully before signing the regional customs bond guarantee scheme (RCTG). With both Comesa and SADC working on RCTG, the aim of the scheme is to facilitate the rapid movement of goods within the regions with one bond irrespective of transit countries traversed. Experts on the matter argue that a regional customs bond guarantee would eliminate the avoidable administrative and financial costs that are associated with the current practice of nationally executed customs bond guarantees for transit traffic. While Zambia has said it is not in a hurry to sign up to the RCTG and wants to be satisfied that issues relating to the scheme that could disadvantage Zambians have been sorted out, Zambian clearing and forwarding agents remain up in arms over the possibility of the scheme being adopted. Understandably so, says Valerie Sesia, chairperson of the Zambian Customs and Forwarding Agents’ Association. “Introduction of the RCTG will increase unemployment levels in Zambia and boost other countries’ economies to the detriment of our own.” She says the main reason for the resistance to the implementation of a regional customs bond scheme – whether through Comesa or initiatives of the South African Development Community (SADC) – is that it appears that policies across participating states are weighed against Zambia. “The region as a whole must benefit, not just those that are geographically advantaged or whose manufacturing sector is far more advanced than ours.” Sesia says that the organisation has taken up the issue with the Zambian trade ministry in an effort to ensure that all their concerns are addressed. “During March and April this year SADC regional groupings were the largest source of Zambia’s imports, accounting for 59.5% and 56.6% respectively,” says Sesia. “Within SADC South Africa was the major source of imports for Zambia, accounting for 82.7% in March.” Consolidated trucks carry a large number of the imports. Each one of these shipments requires a bond to cover each individual consignment on the consolidated truck. That means that one truck could have 15 bonds raised where Zambian exports are mainly full truckloads of one single commodity being mainly minerals and agricultural products. Therefore, for each import truck of approximately 15 custom bonds, we would export one truck covered by one export bond.” According to Sesia the Zambian Customs and Forwarding Agents Association would only consider supporting the RCBG once these and other concerns are addressed. “It needs to be a fair playing field and at present it is anything but that.”