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New report shows status of implementation of customs modernization reforms in East and Southern Africa

Tuesday, 31 October 2023 12:14

The World Customs Organization (WCO) East and Southern Africa (ESA) Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB) has consolidated into a report the findings from a recent survey conducted in its 24 members to assess the status of implementation of reforms and modernizations projects in the various customs administrations. The WCO-ROCBs are autonomous entities (they are not bodies of the WCO) that are established in various regions of the world to assist member customs administrations with capacity building programs at regional level by helping them, among others, to identify more accurate capacity building needs and possible solutions and to coordinate the use and implementation of WCO tools and practices in the different Regions. The WCO-ESA-ROCB report shows the progress made by customs administrations in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA region) with regard to the automation of processes, use of information communication and technology, HS implementation, risk management, cross-border e-commerce, single window implementation (with the observed changes following the introduction of such systems), use of coordinated border management practices, one-stop border posts, advance rulings, Electronic Cargo Tracking Systems (ECTSs) and other fields of activity.

Two roadmaps guide the future development plans in the Horn of Africa

Monday, 30 October 2023 07:35

At the 17^th Ministerial Roundtable of the Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI), held in Sharm-el-Sheikh on 24 May 2023 on the margins of the African Development Bank’s 2023 Annual Meetings, the HoAI Finance Ministers highlighted the importance to leverage private sector investments for unlocking the economic growth of the Horn of Africa. At the same time, they called for the adoption of a common vision and strategy for accelerating development in the borderlands, being these geographical areas critical for the peace and prosperity of the region.

African industrialization: the AfCFTA as a beacon of hope after 40 years of failure

Friday, 27 October 2023 07:42

A report from FERDI (Foundation for Studies and Research on International Development ) analyses the challenges of industrial development in Africa in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), highlighting the role that such agreement can play in unlocking industrialization in the continent, after more than 40 years of failed attempts by African institutions. The report clarifies that the relevance of Africa industrialization dates back to the 1980s, when at the Conference of Heads of State and government of the Organization of African Unity (now African Union) held in Monrovia (Liberia) in 1979, African leaders proclaimed the period 1980 to 1990 the "Industrial Decade of Africa". Yet, despite more than four decades since this Conference, the contribution of the manufacturing value added of African economies to the global economy still today remains negligible, standing at less than 2%.

WTO trade policy review of SACU reveals how Africa is following alternative patterns to the 'linear' regional integration scheme

Thursday, 26 October 2023 07:10

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has completed the fifth Trade Policy Review of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), one of the few Customs Unions in Africa which, however, is not included by the African Union in the list of the (eight) official Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in the continent. SACU is considered the oldest Customs Union in the world, established in 1910 between South Africa and the British High Commission Territories (HCTs), i.e., Lesotho (the former Basutoland), Botswana (the former Bechuanaland), and Eswatini (known before 2018 as Swaziland). SACU however, is even more ancient, as it lays its foundations on the 1889 Customs Union Convention between the British Colony of Cape of Good Hope and the Orange Free State Boer Republic, progressively expanded to cover now five countries with different levels of development: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa. All SACU countries are also members to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and their economies are dominated by the services sector, representing about 70% of SACU's GDP.

Another step toward the creation of the African continental market: first multi-border customs transit bond issued in Zambia

Wednesday, 25 October 2023 05:51

In 2019, the African Export-Import Bank (AfreximBank) launched the idea of a continental transit guarantee system able to cover the risk of loss of import duties for customs authorities in the event that goods moving under a transit procedure and crossing the territory of more African countries, are diverted while in transit. The project, called AfreximBank African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme” (AACTGS), aims at promoting intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), by facilitating the movement of goods across the continent through the replacement of the multiple national bonds (which are expensive and cause unnecessary delays at the borders), with a more efficient system of regional or continental bonds/guarantees. Because of these objectives, the AACTGS is considered as an AfCFTA-flagship initiative, whose implementation is expected to produce cost savings for African companies of more than 300 million USD per year because of the reduced transit burden.

News

New report shows status of implementation of customs modernization reforms in East and Southern Africa

Two roadmaps guide the future development plans in the Horn of Africa

African industrialization: the AfCFTA as a beacon of hope after 40 years of failure

WTO trade policy review of SACU reveals how Africa is following alternative patterns to the 'linear' regional integration scheme

Another step toward the creation of the African continental market: first multi-border customs transit bond issued in Zambia

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