… Despite the Namibia Revenue Agency imposing permits for foreign registered cars
BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE-Eswatini and Namibia ties are bearing good fruits!
New reports from BNN Newsroom have revealed that the Namibia Revenue Agency has said all travelers, excluding tourists from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, and South Africa, importing or driving a motor vehicle bearing a foreign registration plate number into Namibia will now be required to complete a Temporary Import Permit.
This means that the Kingdom of Eswatini is one of the four countries that will not be requested to have the Temporary Import Permit for a foreign registration number vehicle.
According to the reports, the Agency said the permit allows motor vehicles with foreign plate numbers to be imported or driven in Namibia for 90 days.
“This means that the motor vehicle must be exported or driven out of Namibia before the expiry of the permit,” read a statement by the Namibia Revenue Agency.
New and second-hand vehicle imports through Namibian ports have grown steadily and current facilities were expanded to handle higher volume, according to the Namibia Ports Authority.
Namibian ports handle more than 200 00 freight tonnes of vehicles per year that are meant for its landlocked neighbours including Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Malawi, and the DRC.
When sought for comment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Communications Officer Sikhumbuzo Bhembe said he was not aware of the developments, however stating that it was possible that Eswatini would be exempted from producing the permits.
“We have great relations with Namibia- more especially because we are both SADC member states and are members of SACU,” said Bhembe.
SADC is the acronym for Southern African Development Community and SACU stands for Southern African Customs Union.
Bhembe further said the visit by Namibia President, who doubles as SADC Organ Troika Chairperson, Hage Geingob, towards the end of last year, was proof that the countries had strong ties. BNN Newsroom, founded by Gurbaksh Chahal, is one of the world’s largest global newsrooms, providing breaking news, data modelling, and research in over 200 markets while remaining 100 per cent ad and conflict free.
