The 30th Governing Council (GC) Meeting โ Swakopmund, Namibia
23rd & 24th May 2024.
The 30th Governing Council (GC) meeting is underway, hosted by the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) in Swakopmund, Namibia. Participants include representatives from 19 member countries: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Representatives from strategic partners are also in attendance, including the WCO, COMESA, AfCFTA Secretariat, UNECA, WCO ESA RPSG, IMF-AFRITAC South, and the International Trade Centre (UN/WTO agency).
Opening remarks delivered are highlighted as follows:
The Honourable Ipumbu Shiimi, Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises, Namibia, formally opened the Governing Council. He expressed his pleasure at welcoming and hosting the delegates in Namibia. He highlighted the role of Customs as the gatekeeper of the society, without whom the society would be endangered, and the economic growth of nations hampered. He called on all Members to embrace partnership, cooperation and collaboration and especially in light of the coming into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and other respective trade agreements. He provided a brief history of Swakopmund and invited the delegates to explore and enjoy the warmth and hospitality of the Namibian people and the beautiful coastline.
Mr.ย Sam Shivute, the host and Commissioner of Namibia Revenue Agency, welcomed all delegates and thanked the region for the hosting opportunity provided to Namibia and all the members and development partners for honouring the nation with their presence. He emphasized the role of leadership across the board to the economic development of the society and highlighted the role of Customs in promoting trade.
Mr. Edward Kieswetter, the WCO Council Chairperson, highlighted the WCOโs mission and vision reminding the delegates of the call โBorders Divide, Customs Connectโ. He pointed out that the global environment is characterised by new trade patterns, demands for better trade facilitation, the necessity for improved efficiency in the operations of Customs administrations and demands that include addressing safety and security concerns and emerging new risks. Our ability to address these challenges requires robust leadership driven by innovation and empathy. He thus stressed the importance of leadership in any successful organization.
Mr. Ian Saunders, the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization, expressed his pleasure at the invitation to Namibia and the ESA Governing Council, he thanked Namibia for their hospitality. He reminded the delegates that Customs operates in a dynamic environment with arising challenges that need to be continuously addressed in order to ensure the delivery of our mandate to facilitate legitimate trade and secure our society.ย He reiterated the WCOโs commitment to develop robust and agile policies that will support Members to automate, modernize and optimize their processes to achieve sustainable development globally. He pointed out that the WCO endeavours to be responsive to Member needs, highlighting its efforts to engage donors and other development partners in an effort to boost their funding and technical expertise.
The WCO ESA Vice Chair, Vivekanand Ramburun, Mauritius, pointed to sustained efforts in implementing its Strategy and building capacity by promoting initiatives related to trade facilitation, revenue mobilization, security, compliance and enforcement, and in the development of our human capital, all which form the foundations of the ESA Regional Strategy. He stressed that in todayโs globally connected and dynamic world, boosting trade and investment are vital to ensure the prosperity of a nation and it is widely recognized that Customs plays a key role to achieving these national objectives. It is therefore imperative that ESA Customs administrations modernize and automate their procedures, processes and systems and adopt good international practices by implementing WCOโs international standards, recommendations, tools and instruments.
