Imagine a cargo truck loaded with goods, ready to cross borders swiftly, but instead detained for days due to cumbersome procedures, redundant inspections, and poor inter-agency coordination. This scenario not only increases operational costs for businesses but also hampers international trade efficiency. While the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) aims to eliminate such administrative barriers, its success hinges on a frequently overlooked factor: competent human resources.
Eswatini, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, is addressing this challenge by revolutionizing its human resource management systems. The Eswatini Revenue Authority (SRA) recognizes that skilled personnel form the foundation of customs modernization and reform strategies. With support from the World Customs Organization (WCO), the SRA conducted a "Capacity Building Diagnostic Mission" from April 29 to May 3, 2019, to assess critical competency gaps in implementing the World Trade Organization's TFA.
Trade Facilitation: Opportunities and Challenges
The TFA promises to enhance trade efficiency by reducing unnecessary border checks, simplifying documentation requirements, optimizing processes, strengthening inter-agency coordination, and improving rules and procedures. These measures aim to accelerate the movement of goods and services while lowering trade costs. However, achieving these objectives requires a well-trained customs workforce with specialized skills.
WCO's Comprehensive Assessment
The WCO's diagnostic mission helped SRA identify strengths and weaknesses in its human resource management. Based on WCO standards, the evaluation covered multiple dimensions:
- Strategic Alignment: Does SRA's HR strategy support trade facilitation goals and customs modernization?
- Competency Mapping: Are job-specific competencies clearly defined? Do employees possess them?
- Performance Management: Does SRA have effective systems to measure and improve employee productivity?
- Training Infrastructure: Are there sufficient opportunities for skill development?
- Career Development: Does SRA offer clear advancement pathways to retain talent?
- Compensation: Are remuneration packages competitive enough to attract high-caliber professionals?
WCO experts engaged with SRA's senior leadership and department heads overseeing HR, corporate services, internal affairs, learning and development, modernization teams, operational policies, and border operations during intensive consultations.
Learning from Malawi's Best Practices
To enhance capacity-building efforts, WCO facilitated knowledge exchange between SRA officials and their counterparts at the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), which has implemented exemplary HR practices. This peer-matching initiative allowed SRA to adapt MRA's successful models to its context.
Eswatini's Commitment to Competency-Based Management
Following the diagnostic mission, SRA pledged to adopt competency-based management principles, aligning with the WCO's Customs Professional Framework and HR implementation guidelines. This approach emphasizes selecting, training, evaluating, and promoting employees based on demonstrated skills and potential rather than seniority alone.
SRA and WCO jointly developed an implementation plan featuring five key steps:
- Developing a comprehensive competency framework
- Conducting gap analyses between current and required competencies
- Designing targeted training programs
- Revamping performance evaluation systems
- Creating structured career progression plans
Building the Competency Framework
The foundation of this transformation lies in establishing a robust competency model that identifies the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors required for each role. An effective customs competency model includes:
- Technical Expertise: Customs-specific knowledge like tariff classification, valuation, rules of origin
- Managerial Skills: Project management, risk assessment, decision-making
- Interpersonal Abilities: Communication, teamwork, conflict resolution
- Cognitive Skills: Analytical thinking, problem-solving, judgment
- Personal Attributes: Integrity, accountability, initiative, adaptability
Strategic Training Initiatives
A multi-tiered training approach addresses diverse needs:
- Onboarding: Foundational training for new recruits
- Continuous Learning: Regular upskilling for existing staff
- Leadership Development: Preparing future managers
- Professional Certification: Enhancing specialized competencies
Performance Management Overhaul
The redesigned evaluation system emphasizes:
- Clear alignment between individual objectives and organizational goals
- Regular constructive feedback
- Objective, bias-free assessments
- Tangible links between performance and career advancement
Career Development as a Retention Tool
Structured career pathways incorporate:
- Personalized career counseling
- Cross-functional rotation programs
- Mentorship pairings between junior and senior officers
- Transparent promotion criteria
Conclusion: A Model for Developing Nations
Eswatini's partnership with WCO represents a strategic transformation that will enhance customs efficiency and contribute to national economic growth. In an era of increasing trade complexity, Eswatini's experience offers valuable lessons for other developing countries. By prioritizing human capital development and establishing robust HR systems, nations can better navigate trade facilitation challenges while unlocking sustainable development opportunities.
This initiative received crucial support from Finland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with contributions from the UK's HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), WCO, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).