Members of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) have agreed to lower trade costs and simplify import and export procedures to promote intraregional trade.
This would also result in accredited traders in member states enjoying benefits in line with the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement.
According to a statement issued by the Sacu secretariat, the five member states – Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa – signed a mutual recognition agreement in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
The authorised economic operator (AEO) progamme allows customs authorities to share compliance and security responsibilities with the private sector and reward them with several trade facilitation benefits.
“The AEO programme is an internationally endorsed risk-management approach that seeks to collaborate with trade supply-chain entities and supports increased voluntary compliance by enabling customs authorities to reward traders who are compliant,” the statement reads.
Through the agreement, the commissioners general of revenue authorities in the five Sacu member countries agreed to recognise each other’s AEOs.
They agreed to “do the best we can to facilitate cross-regional trade to ensure the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, exploring all its opportunities, and being alert to respond to all its risks.
“It is in our hands as leaders of Sacu revenue administrations to play a key role in significantly reducing the stubborn residue of poverty, inequality and unemployment among our people in our region and beyond”.
The officials also committed to ensuring that the AEO programme contributes to promoting Africa’s connectivity to global trade networks to leverage opportunities for economic development.
The officials further said they believe in partnerships to improve the entire trade ecosystem in support of voluntary compliance, and have set out an ambitious programme to improve trade facilitation.
Sacu executive secretary Thabo Khasipe said the AEO programme has now been mutually recognised by Sacu so that these benefits can extend to compliant and accredited businesses to operate seamlessly between member states.
He urged businesses to form mutually beneficial partnerships through the AEO programme so that the region can extend economic benefits to all its citizens. – email: matthew@namibian.com.na
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