Following an invitation from Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), WCO successfully undertook a four day mission to Harare, on the 14-18th of March, to identify the country’s capacity building needs to implement the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The mission took place in the framework of the HMRC-WCO-UNCTAD TFA Capacity Building Programme financially supported by Her Majesty’s Government through Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
A total of 28 representatives from ZIMRA, the Ministries of Commerce and Industry, Health, Agriculture, Immigration and other state and private sector stakeholders participated in a facilitated dialogue which concluded with a proposal for a two-year programme partnership to support Zimbabwe’s effective and sustainable implementation of the TFA.
Building on the results of diagnostic and analytical work carried out under the auspices of the WCO’s Columbus Programme and further TFA-related analysis undertaken by UNCTAD, a forward plan encompassing questions of risk management, publication of release times, post-clearance audit and freedom of transit was endorsed, along with a commitment to support Zimbabwe’s National Committee for Trade Facilitation (NCTF), in keeping with Article 23.1 of the TFA. These activities are envisaged to be carried out in the course of the next two years under the framework of the Mercator Programme’s tailor-made track.
The WCO looks forward to further cooperation with Zimbabwe, HMRC and UNCTAD in the implementation of this ambitious plan.