AfDB facilitates Customs refresher course

From this week, the African Development Bank (AfDB) is facilitating a refresher course in Customs and Excise for Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), through finances from the Korean Trust Fund.

The course, which is being conducted in Blantyre, will run for four weeks and cover 104 Customs Officers from stations across Malawi.

Addressing participants in her opening remarks, AfDB Country Manager Eyerusalem Fasika said, "The objective of this training is to expose the trainees to the practice, the methodologies and techniques that can help improve your skills on four modules that will be covered over the next four weeks”.

The modules to be covered in the training include Tariff Origin and Valuation, Advance Ruling, Time Release Study and Determination of Road, Sea and Air Freight.

Fasika said the bank is pleased to note that at the end of the training, tens of Customs Officers drawn from all over the country would benefit from this capacity building undertaking.

“We are pleased to note that the choice of the four modules was arrived at upon exhaustive policy dialogue between the bank and the Malawi Revenue Authority in line with the MRA's Strategic Plan on Customs and Excise. The training could not have come at a better time.

“As part of supporting customs reforms and modernisation in landlocked countries, the African Development Bank is aware that collaboration with the Malawi Revenue Authority on capacity building activities such as this one, is not only critical in ensuring that the Customs and Excise Division improves its trade facilitation regime, but also improve the operational environment for the economic operators and other stakeholders in the private sector,” Fasika said.

She said Malawi Customs has to be empowered with all the necessary skills as the continent gears up for operational and implementation phases of the Africa Free Trade Area.

In his address, MRA Commissioner General Mr. Tom Gray Malata expressed gratitude to AfDB for the timely support rendered to MRA through the training.

“This is very crucial because up-to-date skills and knowledge are central to the growth of any organisation more especially MRA which is the lynchpin of Government operations and the national economy,” he said.

The Commissioner General said the Customs and Excise Division is charged with the mandate to effectively and efficiently administer the Customs and Excise Act and related laws in order to collect and account for Malawi’s Customs revenue.

“Apart from revenue collection, the Division is mandated to gather accurate trade statistics while facilitating legitimate trade and protecting the society from prohibited goods. Now that we are advancing in reforms and modernisation we have the huge responsibility to ensure that such reforms are effectively implemented hence the need for versatile officers,” said the Commissioner General.

AfDB is supporting various projects in the country. These include construction of One-Stop-Border-Posts at Chiponde in Machinga and Mchinji, the rehabilitation of Liwonde-Mangochi road, Nsipe-Liwonde road including the completion of the Nacala Road Corridor projects which is expected to contribute to the improvement of trade competitiveness for Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.

BY HENRY MCHAZIME