Imagine being an international trader watching your goods approach the Eswatini border, only to face endless paperwork, bureaucratic red tape, and interdepartmental finger-pointing. These delays don't just consume time—they devour profits. This landlocked southern African nation once struggled with such border inefficiencies. Now, it's undergoing a radical human resources transformation to solve these systemic issues.
The Final Mile of Trade Facilitation
The World Trade Organization's Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) serves as a golden key—designed to dismantle administrative barriers through reduced inspections, streamlined documentation, optimized processes, and improved interagency coordination. In theory, this creates faster, smoother customs clearance. But implementation often falters at the "last mile," where human factors determine success.
Eswatini's Talent Trap: When Traditional HR Fails
For years, the Eswatini Revenue Authority (SRA) operated with outdated human resources practices that lacked strategic alignment. Key weaknesses included:
- Skills mismatches: Employees' capabilities frequently didn't match job requirements.
- Inadequate training: No systematic approach to upskilling staff for evolving trade technologies.
- Stunted career growth: Weak promotion pathways demotivated personnel.
- Poor incentives: Uncompetitive compensation failed to retain top performers.
These constraints created a "talent bottleneck," hindering both customs modernization and TFA implementation.
The WCO Prescription: A Competency-Based Cure
In April 2019, World Customs Organization (WCO) experts conducted a comprehensive "Talent Development Diagnostic" mission. Their assessment covered:
- Strategic HR alignment with institutional goals
- Workforce skills gap analysis
- Performance management systems
- Training program effectiveness
- Career progression frameworks
- Compensation competitiveness
The diagnosis revealed the need to shift from position-based to competency-based HR management—a system prioritizing employees' knowledge, skills, and attitudes through:
- Competency modeling: Defining precise capability requirements per role
- Skills assessment: Objectively evaluating staff proficiencies
- Personalized development: Tailored upskilling plans for each employee
- Performance integration: Applying competencies to daily operations
- Talent-based rewards: Incentivizing continuous capability growth
Roadmap for Reform
Eswatini Customs committed to implementing WCO's recommendations by:
- Developing detailed competency frameworks for all positions
- Overhauling recruitment to emphasize practical skills assessment
- Establishing structured training curricula
- Linking performance metrics directly to competency development
- Reforming compensation to attract and retain skilled personnel
This transformation—supported by Finland's Foreign Ministry, UK's HMRC, WCO, and UNCTAD—demonstrates how human capital development underpins successful trade facilitation. Eswatini's experience offers a replicable model for developing nations seeking to optimize border operations through strategic workforce investment.