WALVIS BAY – Illicit trade, along with money laundering has become so common in Namibia that it has increased three-fold, an international customs and excise meeting heard yesterday.
Namibian Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Bevan Simataa, speaking at the opening of the World Customs Organisation meeting currently underway in Walvis Bay, said officers were on a daily basis dealing with illicit trade in natural resources, substances, counterfeit goods and financial transactions.
Simataa said these crimes were conceived and executed in a sophisticated manner through the use of communication technologies and other techniques, which made control, interception and prosecution more complex.
“Therefore, the role of customs administrators has increasingly become unique and important in promoting economic competitiveness as they are the first defence of any country and they need to be up to date in terms of skills, training and technology,” Simataa explained.
Twenty-eight representatives of member countries to the World Customs Organisation, Southern and Eastern Africa and the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office are attending the meeting at the coastal town. They will caucus on ways to combat the illicit trade, while establishing smart partnerships and sharing ideas on how to fight the scourge.
Simataa said customs and excise needs to be equipped with the latest digital technology and skills and to establish inter-regional partnerships to combat the illicit trafficking of counterfeit goods, drug trafficking and other cross- border crimes.
He called on member states to form a united front as they have now realised the dynamics of their environments and the need for a common resolve.
He urged customs administrators present to improve their cooperation, ensure they optimally use ICTs and address the issue of illicit trade to the core of the supply chain.