Mission in support of Customs reform and modernization in Guinea

28 July 2011

Mission in support of Customs reform and modernization in Guinea

As part of Phase II of the Columbus Programme and upon the request of the Guinea Customs Administration, a World Customs Organization (WCO) mission conducted by the Regional Office for Capacity Building for the West and Central Africa region (ROCB-WCA) was delivered in Conakry (Guinea) from 4 to 11 June 2011.

The mission was financed by the Netherlands Government’s Customs Co-operation Fund and enjoyed the support of two experts: Mr. Souleymane SANGARE,an accredited expert, and Mr. Fatayu OYENIYE, WCO Technical Attaché to the ROCB-WCA.

The primary aim of this mission was to assess the level of implementation of Guinea Customs’ 2010 Action Plan and, based on the findings, to develop the 2011 Action Plan for the said Administration.

The WCO mission was received in Conakry by Mr. Sangaré Toumany, Director General of Guinea Customs, his deputy and a team of senor officials from the Directorate General belonging to the Reform Committee.

The conclusions of the mission show that Guinea Customs is at the stage of implementing the priorities set out within the 2010 Action Plan, with some notable advances in the trade facilitation domain.

The key results were measured and showed considerable progress in the implementation of the 2010 Action Plan leading to significant improvements within the Customs Service.

The mission also resulted in the development of terms of reference for the expression of assistance requirements as well as a basic approach to the project template.

During the mission, the experts also visited the Customs services in Conakry Port and commented on potential ways of optimizing Customs’ performance, especially in terms of goods acceptance and the establishment of a risk analysis and management structure.

The mission was rounded off by a summary report presented to the Director General of Guinea Customs, to whom the experts repeated the need for this Administration to take full advantage of the current political support and the positive dynamics within the Modernization Committee in order to carry out the necessary reforms.

The WCO and the ROCB welcome the projected progress and reiterate their readiness to support Guinea in its Customs modernization efforts.