Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) says the investment at Mchinji One-Stop Border Post has enhanced trade facilitation, border efficiency and revenue collection.
MRA station manager Tawona Nkhata said on Wednesday during a media tour of the facility that congestion has reduced with processes such as pre-clearance taking place in a single day from the previous three days, thereby enhancing compliance.
of goods. | Chrispine Msiska
She said the facility, implemented through World Bank-funded Southern Africa Trade and Connectivity Project (SATCP) introduced asycuda system, drone command centre and cargo scanner which improved trade facilitation, border efficiency and revenue collection.
“With SATCP interventions, importers are now taking less than a day to clear goods digitally, unlike before when manual clearance could take several days,” said Nkhata.
Mchinji One-Stop Border Post command centre manager responsible for power systems and drones Charles Chatha said the drones have helped in customs enforcement, replacing the manual surveillance eventually addressing smuggling of goods in uncharted routes.
He said through the drones, MRA is now capturing data at a radius of 20 kilometres which has increased surveillance.
“We urge vendors to use legal channels. If they face any challenge, we will support them other than getting heavily taxed or punished for avoidable issues,” said Chatha.
Currently, the MRA has seven drones in border districts with the most active being Mchinji and Dedza.
A cross-border trader Stern Chimbalangondo has since commended MRA for introducing the digital system.
“It is now faster and convenient as compared with the past,” he said.
