The COMESA Virtual Trade Facilitation System (CVTFS) has been launched in DR Congo. Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya and the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Customs and Excise, Mr Gabriel Mwepu Numbi conducted the launch of the system in Lubumbashi, Katanga on Friday, 19 June 2015.

Mr Numbi described the introduction of the CVTFS as a major turning point in doing business, which was consistent with the DR Congo government’s commitment to modernize its operations especially its customs authorities.

“The Customs authorities are in the process of implementing a reform and modernization programme whose main thrust is the simplification of procedures and their harmonization with those of the rest of the world,” he said.

He said that these reforms had been specifically concretized by the transposition of the international convention on the facilitation and harmonization of customs procedures, known as the revised Kyoto Convention into the national legal instruments.

He appreciated COMESA’s participation in the introduction of ASYCUDA ++ version which was first introduced in Katanga before being rolled out in the rest of the DRC. To date, he said commendable progress had been made in reforming and modernizing the DRC customs department.

In his remarks, Mr Ngwenya hailed the leadership of DR Congo and expressed gratitude to His Excellency, Mr Joseph Kabila Kabange who oversaw the implementation of ground breaking projects that include the CVFTS during his tenure as Chairman of the COMESA Authority.

He concurred with the Deputy Director General that the CVFTS would further enhance the efficiency of revenue collection and expedite transit at border posts because of the COMESA Regional Customs Bond Guarantee and the ability of customs and other stakeholders to track both means of transport and goods in real time.

“The CVFTS, which is a regional single window, will contribute to the realization of the single customs territory between DR Congo on one hand and other Member States including Tanzania which was already participating in the RCTG and CVTFS initiatives,” Mr Ngwenya said.

To achieve a seamless logistics supply chain that is essential for trade competitiveness, he called for the containerization of cargo for both imports and exports.

“This would enable exports destined to international markets to be issued with one bill of lading that eliminates transshipment of cargoes at ports which increases trade costs, among others through unloading and loading of shipments resulting in damages of goods and high insurance premiums,” he said.

He called for speedy establishment of the One Stop Border Post at Kasumbalesa border between DR Congo and Zambia and reiterated the commitment of the Secretariat to work with both governments to ensure this goal is attained before the end of 2015. Further, he called for the establishment of a National Surety for issuing the RCTG to make the single customs Territory a reality.

Mr Ngwenya and Mr Numbi also paid a courtesy call on the Governor of the Katanga Province His Excellency Moise Katumbi Chapwe. The Secretary General briefed him on the status of implementation of the CVFTS in different corridors of the DR Congo and its benefits for realization trade efficiency in the transport and logistics supply chain.

The Governor welcomed the CVTFS initiative citing his personal experience in the past as a transporter which he said was not encouraging.

“There was low productivity as a truck would make one round trip a month to and from the ports in the region due to delays at border posts and multiple road blocks and licenses that are charged by transit countries,” the Governor recalled.

He assured the Secretary General that he would liaise with the Ministry of Finance to expedite the establishment of a National Surety to make the SCT a reality at the earliest opportunity.

The Government of DRC and COMESA signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 06 October 2014 on the establishment of the CVTFS system. Under the MoU, Customs authorities are responsible for implementing the system. Other stakeholders include banks, transport operators, insurance companies, freight forwarders, importers among others.