In support of Zimbabwe’s road map towards implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (the WTO TFA), the WCO delivered a mission in the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority’s (ZIMRA) premises in Harare. The mission took place from the 29th August to the 7th September. The mission was delivered under the HMRC-WCO-UNCTAD Project with the support of the Government of the United Kingdom through Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The mission was divided into two parts. The first week included training on risk management and coordinated border management issues. It also included WCO support to the ZIMRA to develop a two-day workshop for other cross-border regulatory agencies (CBRAs). This workshop contained several ZIMRA presentations on risk management and coordinated border management issues, as well as several intensive group discussions and exercises. The workshop was very successfully delivered by ZIMRA during the second week.
Both workshops were opened by Acting Head Compliance, Risk & ASYCUDA Functional Ms. Angeline Mashiri who was standing in for the Acting Commissioner Customs and Excise Mr. George Chiradza. In her opening speeches, she highlighted the importance of increased coordination between the agencies operating at the border in order to facilitate for legitimate trade while at the same time ensuring the safety and security of the Zimbabwean society. She explained that this could only be achieved through Customs’ proper application of risk management, while it was imperative that other cross-border regulatory agencies (CBRAs) also developed risk management approaches and compliance strategies allowing for the expedited clearance of goods.
One important objective of the mission was to identify a core team of up to three ZIMRA officials who can disseminate risk management knowledge to other CBRAs as well as within ZIMRA. Among the presenters, the WCO experts agreed to endorse three outstanding prospective trainers, whose names were submitted to the Commissioner Customs and Excise. Special certificates from the ZIMRA HR and Training department on their competence were issued.