Wallace Mawire
The National Ozone Unit under the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife has embraced the Zimbabwe Electronic Single Windows System (ZeSW) being administered by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) to improve the ease of doing business and timely issuance of import and export permits and licenses to its sector partners and stakeholders. The National Ozone Unit is one of several government agencies, including government ministries and agencies who are adopting the electronic system, migrating from tedious and laborious manual transactions which slow business and trade initiatives. ZIMRA customs automation implementation team official, Tayana Chidzvondo said at a recent single window awareness workshop for Journalists in Kadoma facilitated by the National Ozone Unit in partnership with ZIMRA that the system was launched on 10 June 2022 and a lot of ground has been covered towards the implementation of the concept. Chidzvondo said amongst the many notable achievements under the initiative was the taking on board of Port Health under the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Radiation Protection Authority of Zimbabwe (RPAZ) and ZIMRA through the electronic exporters registration. He said the development of a single window environment is meant to facilitate trade in a modern initiative that has been under consideration by a number of international organizations such as the United Nations World Trade Organization (UNCTAD), World Trade Organization (WTO), World Customs Organizations including various customs administrators from the African continent. “Application of technological solutions towards the strategic goals for government is a key step towards transforming government into an entity that can keep abreast of the needs, requirements and expectations of today’s modern world,” Chidzvondo said. He said the system will also help to combat corruption since manual systems have become fertile ground for fuelling it. Chidzvondo said it is envisaged that through the introduction of the platform, all government processes at the points of entry will be automated, improving efficiencies with organizations and the trading community. George Chaumba, Project Manager for the National Ozone Unit said the electronic single window system adopted by Zimbabwe will enable importers, exporters and traders in his sector to acquire appliances and products which are ozone-free and climate friendly as prescribed by the Montreal Protocol which Zimbabwe is signatory to. Chaumba’s unit is working with various stakeholders including ZIMRA, the Media, refrigeration and air conditioning companies, clearing agencies and transporters, just to mention a few to facilitate on the importation non ozone depleting appliances and products with gases which do not contribute to global warming and climate change. Chaumba said Zimbabwe currently does not manufacture some of the appliances like refrigerators, some of which are being phased out under international obligations like the Montreal Protocol agreements due to their ozone depleting risk. He also said some of the traders are not aware on the need to acquire permits before making imports and run the risk of having their items seized by customs authorities. The Montreal Protocol was established on 16 September 1987 and seeks to protect the ozone layer and the climate system. It is commemorated in September on the World Ozone Day. Under the Montreal Protocol Article 4B it is mandatory for state parties signatory to the treaty to establish licensing and quota systems for importers and exporters. There is also a requirement for the monitoring of imports and exports, including data collection and verification. Chaumba said the Zimbabwe Electronic Single Window System will help them to achieve these objectives required under the international obligations. Chidzvondo said some of the objectives of the system include reducing clearance time of goods, reducing costs of clearing goods, decongesting border posts, simplifying clearance procedures, curbing corruption, enhancing authorities ability to collect revenue for the state and facilitating international trade and integration with other customs authorities, just to mention a few.