On 1 September 2020, the Eswatini Revenue Authority (SRA) held an inauguration ceremony to announce the official launch of a national electronic tariff platform. At the invitation of the SRA Commissioner General Dumisani E. Masilela, the event was virtually attended by WCO Secretary General Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, SACU Executive Secretary Paulina M. Elago and senior policy makers and managers from the SACU Member States. The ceremony was held in Mbabane, Eswatini where the Minister of Trade Mancoba Khumalo, the Minister of Finance Neal Reckingburg, Co-Chairs and Members of the National Trade Facilitation Committee, representatives of the European Union Delegation in Eswatini and a wide audience of Customs officers and private sector stakeholders were present.
In his opening remarks, Honorable Minister Mancoba Khumalo recalled that Eswatini had ratified the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement as early as 2017 and was committed to the full implementation of the standards enshrined therein. He stressed that the online tariff platform will complement that important endeavour, emphasizing the particular relevance of online tools for the ongoing digitalization of Customs processes. He expressed his sincere appreciation to the WCO for its continued support, and to the European Union for the generous funding provided under the EU-WCO Programme for the Harmonized System in Africa, which were key to the successful implementation of the electronic tariff platform in Eswatini.
Concurring with the previous speaker, Dr. Mikuriya congratulated the SRA on bringing to fruition the important effort of creating a new electronic tool that would provide access to accurate and up-to-date information to trade operators. He recognized that complexities inherent in the regulatory landscape of the international trade and Customs were set to increase further, which called for efficient solutions based on cutting edge technology to ensure that traders had reliable access to all the information needed in order to plan and carry out trade transactions. He welcomed the initiative stressing that it would not only be a visible achievement for stakeholders in Eswatini, but also a very good example for other countries in the region and in Africa as a whole, especially given the progressive implementation of the AfCFTA and considering the WTO TFA requirements.
Other speakers took the floor to pay tribute to the hard work of the project management team within the SRA and a good cooperation with all the parties involved in the creation of the new electronic tariff platform. They commended the strong and consistent commitment of the SRA to the modernization of Customs and providing accurate data to the trade community and other stakeholders, stressing that the many challenges related to the Covid-19 made the need for digitalization in Customs even more obvious and the case for electronic tools stronger.
In conclusion of the ceremony, various aspects of the functioning of the new electronic tariff platform were presented to the participants and a series of questions raised from the floor were responded to by the presenters. Commissioner General Dumisani E. Masilela expressed his appreciation to all those who attended the ceremony, officially declared the new electronic tariff platform in Eswatini open and congratulated all the partners involved in the process on the successful completion of the launch phase.
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