Press Release N°053/2015
African Union customs experts discuss the implementation of Single Window in Africa
Antananarivo, Madagascar – 05 March 2015. The first African Union Expert Group Workshop on implementation of a Single Window System kicked off on 04 March 2015 in Antananarivo. The meeting is co-organised by the Department of Trade and Industry of the African Union Commission and the Malagasy Customs Authority. In the three days, customs experts from Member States, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Technical experts from the World Customs Organization (WCO), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI) and Representatives from KenTrade and African Alliance for e-Commerce, will examine among others, the benefits, the challenges and opportunities of implementing the Single Window System in African countries. The Single Window environment aims to expedite and simplify information flows between trade and government and bring meaningful gains to all parties involved in cross-border trade. The meeting will also provide an opportunity for participants to share experiences and challenges and best practices of Single Window implementation. This will provide a learning platform for countries which have not yet implemented the Single Window System.
In her opening statement, the Director for the Department of Trade and Industry of the African Union Commission, Mrs. Treasure Thembisile Maphanga thanked the Malagasy Customs Authority for having accepted to host this meeting and the hospitality extended to the participants of the meeting. She recalled the objectives of the meeting and reminded the participants of the benefits of the Single Window System and its relevance to the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA). She explained that the beauty about implementing the Single Window Concept is that not only would African Union then be responding to the Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT) program, but also to at least 8 or more of the 13 Articles of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation. “Implementation of the Single Window in Africa would benefit not only importers and consumers who, most times have to contend with higher prices induced by red tape in import administration, but exporters too. It would enable firms to increase their continental share of trade in goods and services as a consequence of lower transactions costs. It would also reduce compliance costs, service charges, business opportunity costs and costs associated with uncertainty and corruption”, she highlighted. The Director emphasized the importance of involving the Private Sector on the implementation of the Single Window.
The Director General of the Malagasy Customs Authority Mr. Rabenza Eric Narivony expressed his gratitude to the African Union Commission for choosing Madagascar to host the workshop. “We are aware that trade facilitation and trade development cannot be achieved without a structure like a single window. Single window is a new philosophy of governance that will lead traditional government structures towards new platforms that will benefit African citizens and enterprises”, he said. “We are here to enrich the concept of single window with our own ideas in order to make it useful to the African countries no matter the level of implementation they are right now”, he added.
The Secretary General of the Ministry of Finances and Budget, Mrs. Andrianibololona Vunitsalama noted that Single Window System if well implemented, will promote trade exchanges and investments. “All our efforts to achieve regional integration, bilateral cooperation and any other kinds of partnership cannot be achieved without a structure that facilitates the establishment of the single window”, she opined. She thanked the African Union Commission for holding the first African Union customs experts meeting on the implementation of Single Window in Africa. She wished fruitful and successful discussions to the participants.
The Workshop is organized as a follow-up to a recommendation from the African Union Sub-Committee of Directors General of Customs meeting during their 5th Ordinary Session held from 12-13 September 2013 in Cotonou, Benin.
On the margins of the meeting, the Director for Trade and Industry, Mrs. Treasure Maphanga, met with the Malagasy Directors General of Customs, the General Manager of Minerals resources, the Director General of Mining administration, the Director General of Private Sector, the Director General of External Trade, the Director of international relations and integration in the Ministry responsible for External Trade and the Secretary General of the Malagasy Chamber of Commerce in order to exchange information on continental initiatives in trade, Industry and Mining and to discuss developments in Madagascar.
