WINDHOEK, Jan. 27 — Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) Commissioner Sam Shivute on Thursday said in order to intensify inspection, control smuggling and improve effectiveness, the country’s customs administration must increase innovation in all knowledge areas.
Speaking on the occasion of International Customs Day, Shivute said it is commonly known that customs maintains a vast amount of information about cross-border trade, which is the essential basis for effective policy and decision-making processes, efficient resource allocation, and effective public service delivery. “Thus, knowledge, being another strategic resource, becomes more and more important.”
As essential employees at the borders, customs officers are responsible for facilitating legitimate international trade as well as collecting taxes and ensuring the safety and security of the community and the country, he said.
“For us as NamRA, there are many reasons to celebrate this day owing to many achievements made by our customs officers in offices and various entry points in the past 12 months. These are the implementation of the Customs Modernization Programs such as the Advance Ruling, the SADC Electronic Certificate of Origin, Container Control Program, and the Unique Consignment Reference, which we will be launching soon,” he said.
This year’s celebrations ran under the theme “Nurturing the next generation: promoting a culture of knowledge-sharing and professional pride in Customs”, which Shivute said resonates with NamRA’s aspirations to embrace knowledge management as a business philosophy. (Xinhua)
Namibians encouraged to increase innovation to control smuggling at entry points
