African Union Experts develop a Curriculum Guide for Customs Administrations for the Continental Free Trade Area and Regional Integration

Dar es Salam, Tanzania – 24 July 2014. A three day African Union Expert Group Workshop on the Development of a Curriculum Guide for Customs Administrations for the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) and Regional Integration kicked off on 23 July 2014 in Dar es Salam. The meeting is co-organised by the Department of Trade and Industry of the African Union Commission and the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA). In the three days, customs experts from Member States, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), training experts from various African institutions offering training in trade-related areas and Experts from World Customs Organization (WCO) Regional Training Centers, will examine among others, the challenges and opportunities of implementing capacity Building Programs in African Customs Administrations, they will make recommendations for implementing effective capacity Building Programs in Customs administrations and they will also make technical proposals for areas requiring Capacity Building in Regional Integration and for Implementing the CFTA.
The Workshop is organized as a follow-up to the recommendations of the 3rd African Union Technical Working Group Workshop on Capacity Building held in Lilongwe, Malawi in July 2009. The aforementioned Workshop among others called for the need to develop awareness sessions to sensitize stakeholders on the integration programs of the Commission and to develop training courses for Customs Administrations in Regional Integration. The Workshop will build on the work carried out by the 4th AU Technical Group Workshop on Capacity Building held in September 2011 in Mombasa, Kenya. The Mombasa workshop identified some areas on Regional Integration which were recommended for inclusion in the curriculum currently being offered by the United Nations Africa Institute for for Economic Development Planning (IDEPI).
Given the dynamic nature of the Customs environment, it has not only become necessary to pursue this line of work but also update Customs capacity building requirements so as to take on board recent developments in the area of Trade and Trade Facilitation both at the global and continental levels. One major development at the continental level was the adoption of a decision (Assembly/AU/Dec.394 [XVIII]) by the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government during the 18th Ordinary Session of their Assembly held in January 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Fast tracking the establishment of a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) by the indicative date of 2017 as an, as well as the endorsement of the Road Map, Action Plan and Architecture in Boosting Intra Africa Trade, composed of seven clusters, one of which is on Trade Facilitation.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Aly Iboura Moussa, Acting Head of the Customs Cooperation Division for the Department of Trade and Industry of African Union Commission recalled the objectives of the workshop. He reminded the participants that the expected outcomes are recommendations on areas related to capacity building, integration and trade facilitation. Mr. Moussa pointed out that African integration has become a crucial stake for the Continent. “The construction of this vast African market should be based on the regional economic communities. Some of them have already achieved very significant levels of integration, while others have launched joint initiatives to build inter-communities programs. The case of the Tripartite free trade area COMESA-EAC-SADC under construction is edifying”, he mentioned.
On his part, the Deputy Commissioner for Customs at Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) appreciated the efforts of the African Union Commission in conceptualizing, facilitating and coordinating the workshop. “We are delighted to have you here to participate and share experiences given the dynamic nature of trade and customs environment hence update customs capacity building requirements in order to take on board recent developments in trade facilitation globally”, he said. The Deputy Commissioner also said he is optimistic that the workshop will come up with recommendations for areas requiring capacity building in regional integration and for the implementation the Continental Free Trade Area. “The effectiveness of this workshop will lead us to an efficient and effective customs administration to significantly influence economic growth since it is universally acknowledged that customs administrations play a vital role in the growth of international trade and the development of the global market”, he emphasized.