An end-to-end Time Release Study (TRS) was jointly launched by Eswatini and South Africa at the Oshoek-Ngwenya land border on 13 November 2023. The TRS takes place with the support of the WCO Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme, funded by the United Kingdom’s His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), as part of its multi-year partnerships with Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) and South African Revenue Service (SARS). The coordination between both countries illustrates the importance of the Oshoek-Ngwenya border as one of the busiest land borders between South Africa and Eswatini, with an average of 600 trucks crossing daily. 

Speakers at the launch included Mr. Beyers Theron, South African Revenue Service (SARS) Director of Customs, Ms. Thobile Dlamini, Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) Acting Commissioner General, Mrs. Gugu Mahlinza, ERS Commissioner of Customs, and Mr. Nathi Dlamini, Co-Chairperson of the Eswatini National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC). Senior executives of other governmental agencies and private sector stakeholders also attended the launch.

During the launch, on behalf of SARS, Mr. Theron explained the importance of the TRS as a widely recognized tool to identify bottlenecks in border processes. This enables border agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of such processes with the aim to convert borders into smart borders led by technology. He also emphasized the need for collaboration between all agencies and the private sector with a national approach to make the TRS successful. On behalf of the Eswatini NTFC, Mr. Dlamini added that the findings of the TRS will be critical in implementing activities outlined in the National Trade Facilitation Road Map of Eswatini. He appreciated the support provided by the WCO and the government of the United Kingdom through HMRC.

The TRS is seen as a vital initiative to empirically measure cargo clearance performance at the border through an end-to-end approach capturing time stamps/data from the time a truck enters the border from the South African side until it exits the border on the Eswatini side and vice-versa.  Moreover, the TRS serves to identify bottlenecks and make recommendations to overcome them. The respective reports of key findings are expected to be published in April 2024.  

Through the Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme’s blended approach to capacity building and technical assistance, initial preparations for the TRS took place online with the respective technical working groups before the in-country engagement. In line with the WCO’s Customs-to-Customs model and the spirit of knowledge exchange between Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme partner countries, the WCO’s assistance was supported by TRS specialists from partner countries Namibia and Zambia.  

The WCO looks forward to its continued partnerships with ERS and SARS under the Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme for sustainable development and economic growth through an enhanced business-enabling environment.

For more information on the WCO Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme, please see here.

For more information about WCO capacity building, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.