IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/subboe/v65y2020i2p46-64n4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Attitudes, Knowledge, and Practices of Customs Administrators on Trade Facilitation

Author

Listed:
  • Pasara Michael Takudzwa

    (Trade and Development (TRADE), South Africa)

  • Gonyora Chamunorwa

    (Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe)

  • Meyer Daniel Francois

    (Trade and Development (TRADE), South Africa)

Abstract

In light of renewed interests to boost African trade through continental integration, the authors identified trade facilitation as an integral component of complimenting the integration processes. This is especially relevant in the southern region where the majority of borders are characterised by complex and duplicated processes due to the lack of ‘one-stop border posts’. This study explores the attitudes, knowledge and practices of customs administrators on trade facilitation in Zimbabwe. Based on questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, and secondary data collected from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), the results indicated that ‘trade facilitation’ was not included in strategic policies of ZIMRA. In terms of risk factors, low staff remuneration was identified as the major issue. Many cross-border authorities at the border (overstaffed) and outdated infrastructure were major constraints in the flow of cargo and people. The study recommends that ZIMRA should provide training on the ‘single window system’ in order to improve on coordinated border management. Secondly, ZIMRA should review staff remuneration frequently and synchronise it with regional standards. Thirdly, there should be alignment and coordination of the trade-related issues within various government ministries. Fourthly, customs authorities should establish stand-alone trade facilitation units at ports of entry.

Suggested Citation

  • Pasara Michael Takudzwa & Gonyora Chamunorwa & Meyer Daniel Francois, 2020. "Attitudes, Knowledge, and Practices of Customs Administrators on Trade Facilitation," Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Oeconomica, Sciendo, vol. 65(2), pages 46-64, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:vrs:subboe:v:65:y:2020:i:2:p:46-64:n:4
    DOI: 10.2478/subboec-2020-0009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2478/subboec-2020-0009
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2478/subboec-2020-0009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hudson, Laurel Anderson & Ozanne, Julie L, 1988. "Alternative Ways of Seeking Knowledge in Consumer Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 14(4), pages 508-521, March.
    2. Gbadebo Odularu & Philip Alege (ed.), 2019. "Trade Facilitation Capacity Needs," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-05946-0, June.
    3. Eva Hagsten & Patricia Kotnik, 2017. "ICT as facilitator of internationalisation in small- and medium-sized firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 431-446, February.
    4. Ismail, Normaz Wana & Mahyideen, Jamilah Mohd, 2015. "The Impact of Infrastructure on Trade and Economic Growth in Selected Economies in Asia," ADBI Working Papers 553, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    5. Evdokia Moïsé & Silvia Sorescu, 2013. "Trade Facilitation Indicators: The Potential Impact of Trade Facilitation on Developing Countries' Trade," OECD Trade Policy Papers 144, OECD Publishing.
    6. Daniel Sakyi & José Villaverde & Adolfo Maza & Isaac Bonuedi, 2017. "The Effects of Trade and Trade Facilitation on Economic Growth in Africa," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 29(2), pages 350-361, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shahrzad Safaeimanesh & Glenn P. Jenkins, 2020. "Trade Facilitation and Its Impacts on the Economic Welfare and Sustainable Development of the ECOWAS Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-22, December.
    2. Victor Ushahemba Ijirshar, 2022. "Trade Facilitation and Economic Growth Among Middle-Income Countries," Papers 2204.11088, arXiv.org.
    3. Isaac Bonuedi & Kofi Kamasa & Eric Evans Osei Opoku, 2020. "Enabling trade across borders and food security in Africa," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(5), pages 1121-1140, October.
    4. , Aisdl, 2020. "The Impact of Trade Facilitation on Vietnam’s Trade Flows," OSF Preprints uvw8p, Center for Open Science.
    5. Gopalan, Sasidaran & Reddy, Ketan & Sasidharan, Subash, 2022. "Does digitalization spur global value chain participation? Firm-level evidence from emerging markets," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    6. Bryan Roberts & Fynnwin Prager & Charles Baschnagel & Adam Rose & Brett Shears, 2021. "The economic benefits of trade facilitation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise programme," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(2), pages 346-366, February.
    7. Ranga Chimhundu, 2016. "Marketing store brands and manufacturer brands: Role of referent and expert power in merchandising decisions," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(5), pages 24-40, September.
    8. Christian Volpe Martincus, 2016. "Out of the Border Labyrinth: An Assessment of Trade Facilitation Initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 96856, February.
    9. Samson Nonso Okafor & Chukwunonso Ekesiobi & Ogonna Ifebi & Stephen Kelechi Dimnwobi & Simplice A. Asongu, 2022. "Testing the triple deficit hypothesis for sub‐Saharan Africa: Implications for the African Continental Free Trade Area," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 34(1), pages 142-153, March.
    10. Abdoulaye Seck, 2017. "How Facilitating Trade would Benefit Trade in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of African Development, African Finance and Economic Association (AFEA), vol. 19(1), pages 1-26.
    11. Uwizeyemungu, Sylvestre & Poba-Nzaou, Placide & St-Pierre, Josée, 2022. "Back-end information technology resources and manufacturing SMEs’ export commitment: An empirical investigation," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5).
    12. Halima Jibril & Stephen Roper, 2022. "Of chickens and eggs: Exporting, innovation novelty and productivity," Working Papers 027, The Productivity Institute.
    13. Kose,Ayhan & Ohnsorge,Franziska Lieselotte & Ye,Lei Sandy & Islamaj,Ergys, 2017. "Weakness in investment growth : causes, implications and policy responses," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7990, The World Bank.
    14. Bernard Hoekman, 2014. "The Bali Trade Facilitation Agreement and Rulemaking in the WTO: Milestone, Mistake or Mirage?," RSCAS Working Papers 2014/102, European University Institute.
    15. Temesgen Worku & Juan P. Mendoza & Jacco L. Wielhouwer, 2016. "Tariff evasion in sub-Saharan Africa: the influence of corruption in importing and exporting countries," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 23(4), pages 741-761, August.
    16. Chu Ping Lo, 2024. "Digitalization, AI Intensity, and International Trade," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 25(1), pages 251-273, May.
    17. Alroomi, Azzam & Karamatzanis, Georgios & Nikolopoulos, Konstantinos & Tilba, Anna & Xiao, Shujun, 2022. "Fathoming empirical forecasting competitions’ winners," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 1519-1525.
    18. Simplice Asongu & Nicholas Biekpe & Vanessa Tchamyou, 2019. "Remittances, ICT and doing business in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 46(1), pages 35-54, January.
    19. Jaime DE MELO & Laurent WAGNER, 2016. "Aid for Trade and the Trade Facilitation Agreement: What they can do for LDCs," Working Papers P153, FERDI.
    20. Witkowski, Terrence H. & Thibodeau, Eric J., 1999. "Personal Bonding Processes in International Marketing Relationships," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 315-325, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    trade facilitation; economic integration; customs logistics; AfCFTA; Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA);
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • F42 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - International Policy Coordination and Transmission

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:vrs:subboe:v:65:y:2020:i:2:p:46-64:n:4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.