Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in April 2018, what aspects of economic development in Sierra Leone and Malawi have received technical support; and what was the result of any such support.

Since its launch at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2018, the Commonwealth Trade Facilitation Programme has increased the capacity and capability of customs organisations in 18 Commonwealth countries. This in turn facilitates the increase of trade, providing benefits for governments, consumers and producers in these Commonwealth countries. For example:

• In Eswatini, the programme has conducted a post-clearance audit and delivered workshops aimed at creating more efficient and cost effective customs clearance systems at the border;
• In Tonga and Zambia, Time Release Studies (TRS) of customs clearance processes have identified possible areas for systematic efficiencies;
• In Sierra Leone, advanced training has enabled customs officials to more accurately identify the customs value and corresponding rate of duty to be paid on imported goods; and
• In Malawi, workshops have helped improve the recording of information related to different categories of goods to enable the correct collection of customs duties.

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