NOORDOEWER – Namibia yesterday tightened its borders to stem the flow of illicit goods when the Minister of Finance, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila officially commissioned new scanners at the Noordoewer border post.
The new scanners are expected to reduce the cross-border flow of illegal goods and contraband and also to improve the capability of government to collect revenue. The new scanning equipment was necessitated by increasing trade volumes and are part of the consignment of 14 scanners acquired for close to half a billion Namibia dollars from Chinese company, Nu-Tech in 2008. The 14 scanners have been installed at four border posts and three airports, where the equipment is already operational. These include the Wenela, Trans-Kalahari, Oshikango and Noordoewer border posts and Hosea Kutako International Airport, Walvis Bay and Eros airports. The remaining sites for which work is in progress to install scanners include the Ariamsvlei border post, as well as the Port of Walvis Bay.
In her keynote address the finance minister said the main objective of the scanners is to secure and safeguard Namibia’s territorial integrity insofar as economic security is concerned. She noted that the equipment would also provide for the seamless facilitation of legitimate trade, while ensuring the optimal interception of illicit trade. “International trade is an essential driver for economic prosperity. The challenges posed by the global trading system increasingly makes customs and excise authorities worldwide vulnerable,” she said.
These challenges, she said, include the sophisticated concealment of illicit goods, smuggling and money laundering, all of which deprives the government of much needed revenue.
To address these challenges the World Customs Organisation’s (WCO) framework of standards to facilitate and secure trade were adopted by Namibia and these include the use of non-intrusive detection equipment (scanners) for all cargo. Besides significantly increasing border security, the scanners also greatly enhance the inspection time for trucks at border posts. Instead of taking 30 minutes to an hour to unpack a truck for inspection, it now takes merely two minutes to scan an entire truck to reveal the contents of its cargo.
The scanner, which was demonstrated to the minister and her delegation, including the Deputy Minister of Safety and Security, Erastus Uutoni, //Karas Governor, Bernardus Swartbooi, and finance ministry Permanent Secretary, Ericah Shafudah, is also able to see anything hidden in tyres and able to detect any hidden compartments.
The key strategic objectives of the scanners are, amongst others, to increase revenue from inspections through the detection of misrepresented and un-declared, as well as contraband goods by ensuring greater compliance with customs and excise and Value Added Tax (VAT) legislation; to augment anti-smuggling capability; to enhance the attraction of investment leveraging on reduced costs, increased throughput and turn-around times of consignments, as well as to use customs staff more effectively to combat all related risks that impact negatively on revenue collection, trade facilitation and national security.
According to Minister Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Namibia experienced an escalation in revenue collection since the installation of the first scanner in 2010/2011. Total revenue collection in terms of customs and excise duties, VAT and other collections at exit and entry points amounted to just over N$821 500 000 in 2009/2010. Following the installation of eight scanners during the 2012/2013 financial year this figure increased to more than N$1,1 billion.
“We have no doubt that these figures will increase after all scanner equipment have been installed and are fully operational in the 2014/2015 financial year,” she said at the commissioning ceremony. Other milestones achieved through the deployment of scanners at the country’s borders include close to 10 000 detentions, valued at close to N$3,5 million, and the seizure of more than 50 million cigarettes valued at about N$83 million and drastically improving the lead and clearance times.