As part of the WCO Leadership and Management Development (LMD) Programme, the WCO organized a Senior Executive Team Dialogue for the Swaziland Revenue Authority. The event was held from June 18 to 22, 2013 in a remote location near the border between South Africa and Swaziland, offering an opportunity for the SRA executive committee to come together, at a distance from their daily tasks. The event was made possible with the funding provided to the WCO through the World Bank for the Customs Capacity Enhancement Project for Sub Saharan Africa (CCEP-SSA)

As the SRA pursues with vigor its effort to improve its operations, to perceive revenue and continue to facilitate economic development through trade facilitation, the Executive team was able to focus on a number of issues of interest to the administration. Topics covered included the establishment of an open and effective management culture, improved internal communication, and more agile decision-making. The team was also given an opportunity to gain insight into each others’ thinking and behaviours and focus on team dynamics, as a way to strengthen their ability to work together in shaping the future of the SRA. Time was also devoted to supporting participants in their individual learning and development aimed at improved management and leadership qualities.

The SRA has made a clear commitment to capacity building in the area of leadership and management development, and this activity is part of an overall programme to achieve this objective. It complemented a previous LMD workshop delivered in October 2012 to middle-managers, and it will be followed by an additional session in the future for the benefit of managers at other senior levels.

The WCO is pleased with the acceptance of its LMD Programme and the commitment to implement its ideas thus far in Swaziland and elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa. Members interested by what is on offer should contact Capacity.Building@wcoomd.org.