Andre Klynsmith

Technology and Trends

Information Should Not Have to Wait for the Truck: Five Customs Services Agree a Data-Exchange Roadmap

Customs administrations from Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe have adopted a joint roadmap to interlink their systems so that trade information travels ahead of the cargo. The agreement, signed in Pretoria on 26 August 2026, sets out how Customs-to-Customs data exchange will be developed and rolled out across Southern Africa.

Technology and Trends

17 September 2026 • 5 min read

The ambition stated in Pretoria goes further than faster queues: the region is aiming past One-Stop Border Posts towards what the parties called "Non-Stop Borders", where the declaration is already assessed by the time the truck arrives.

What Was Agreed, and by Whom

Senior customs, legal and ICT officials from the five countries met in Pretoria from 24 to 26 August 2026 and adopted a joint Roadmap and Action Plan for Customs-to-Customs (C2C) data exchange. The three-day meeting was hosted by the South African Revenue Service and convened by TradeMark Africa, with the SADC Secretariat taking part.

The administrations framed C2C as a tool for improving corridor performance, enabling pre-arrival processing, strengthening risk management and revenue assurance, and speeding the movement of compliant goods. SARS Director for Customs and Excise Beyers Theron called for a shift away from enforcement-heavy approaches toward an assurance-based, facilitation-oriented model — borders as points of confirmation rather than points of delay.

Why Pre-Arrival Data Changes the Economics

TMA Regional Director for Southern Africa Hope Situmbeko put the manufacturing case plainly. Producing something as ordinary as electrical cable may require copper, polymers, specialised additives and machinery sourced from several countries. Every input crosses a border, and every unpredictable border transaction adds cost and ties up working capital — which makes it harder to add value inside the region than simply to export the raw commodity.

"Information should not have to wait for the truck," she said, adding that the real test of C2C is operational rather than technical. That is the sentence operators should hold on to. The engineering problem of moving a declaration between two revenue authorities was solved years ago. The hard part is whether the receiving officer acts on it, whether the risk engine is tuned to trust it, and whether the trader on the ground ever notices a difference.

Phased Rollout, Starting Where Links Already Work

The meeting agreed that implementation may be phased, beginning with priority corridors, and that bilateral C2C links already running — including operational connections between Zambia and Malawi, and between Zambia and Zimbabwe — provide the foundation for a progressively harmonised regional system. That is a realistic sequence: extend what works rather than launching a region-wide system on day one.

Ally Alexander Mwangolombe of the SADC Secretariat stressed that digital corridors should cut repeated documentation and unpredictable delays particularly for smaller traders, and that SMEs, young entrepreneurs and women in cross-border trade should share in the gains. The practical risk is the opposite outcome — that advance electronic filing becomes one more cost that large forwarders absorb easily and small operators cannot.

About the Author
	Andre Klynsmith Entrepreneur & Technology Enthusiast Andre's expertise spans technology, blockchain, transport, and logistics — with a passion for innovation and driving positive change across industries. info@laaimylorrie.com | laaimylorrie.com