By Hlengiwe Ndlovu | 2018-06-19

BOTSWANA will host the sixth SACU heads of state summit which begins next week Friday.

SACU is the Southern African Customs Union.

The custom union’s revenue sharing formula is one of the issues expected to take centre stage in the upcoming summit, Executive Secretary Paulina Elago said in a statement issued on Friday. The revenue sharing formula is one of issues which will be deliberated as espoused in a ministerial work programme approved by the union’s council of ministers in last year’s summit.  The sixth summit is expected to consider progress made on the implementation of a ministerial work programme. This work programme, according to Elago, was developed following introspection of SACU’s relevance as an organisation that supports the economies of its member states. This programme is spearheaded by the two ministerial task teams on trade and industry and on finance within an agreed timeframe of 24 months.  All SACU member states including Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and the host Botswana are expected to attend this summit.

Key activities and focus areas of the work programme are as follows:

n Reviewing and developing suitable architecture on tariff-setting and application of tariffs, rebates, refunds or duty drawbacks and trade remedies;

n Strengthening existing cooperation and collaboration on trade facilitation to improve border efficiencies;

n Reviewing the revenue sharing formula, long-term management of the common revenue pool;

n Establishment of a stabilisation fund and a financing mechanism for regional industrialisation. Work will be undertaken to explore the feasibility for financing options for the regional projects; and

n Development of public policy interventions to promote industrial development and value chains.

share story          

Post Your Comments Below

---