PROPOSED E219M TO ENHANCE TRADE FACILITATION

EZULWINI – Eswatini may need an estimated US$15 million (E219 million as at yesterday’s exchange rate) to effectively enhance trade facilitation in the next three years.

This transpired during the closing of the Empowerment Programme for Eswatini’s Trade Facilitation Committee held at the Royal Villas yesterday.
The programme was funded by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which supports developing countries to access the benefits of a globalised economy more fairly and effectively.

Making the financial projections were consultant Dalton Nxumalo and Gugu Zwane, the latter being a member of the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) Secretariat.

The two were making a presentation on Funding Opportunities for the Implementation of the National Trade Facilitation Road map 2019-2022. The Road map was approved in April this year.

According to Nxumalo, funding remained the major constraint in the implementation of the Road map. He said the availability of funds would help the committee achieve each of its eight areas of reforms.

Facilitation

Among other activities that the NTFC aims to introduce were the establishment of a One Stop Border Post, the development of a National Single Window and the scaling of Customs to Customs electronic data exchange to incorporate other border agencies and traders.

Zwane, on the other hand, recommended that a Resource Mobilisation Task Team be established; which would work on funding proposals and donor engagements. This Task Team would be required to prioritise the sustainability of the NTFC with its Secretariat as well as coordinate Border Management and Single Window Projects. She further proposed that government be engaged for domestic funding opportunities through the allocation of a percentage of trade facilitation levies and processing fees to be collected towards trade facilitation interventions.

“The NTFC also needs to engage with government to allocate a budget to the NTFC as a gazette entity. We also need to leverage and strengthen local expertise and facilities to support the implementation of the NTF Road map,” Zwane said.

Also making presentations during the event were Eswatini Railway Chief Executive Officer Stephenson Ngubane and Professor Patricia Joubert from the University of Eswatini (UNESWA); who proposed a Knowledge Management Strategy as well as Mandlondlo Mkhwanazi and Thandeka Dlamini; who made a presentation on a proposed Monitoring and Evaluation Plan.

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