Under the auspices of WCO-SACU Connect Project financed by Sweden, the Southern African Customs Union (SACU)’s Member States convened for a workshop which took place from the 1st to the 3rd November 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa to successfully finalize the development of Training Modules for the SACU Preferred Trader Programme (PTP) Core Competencies.

The development of the SACU PTP training modules was facilitated by regional experts from Member States, with inputs and quality assurance provided by the WCO and SACU Secretariats. The training modules have been developed at the quest of SACU region to standardize capacity building approach in SACU with a view to ensure consistency, compatibility and harmonization in the design, implementation and monitoring of the PTP programmes by Member States. The training covers all aspects of PTP, with an emphasis on the PTP validation process.

Following the finalization of the training modules, a pilot of the train-the-trainers on the delivery of the SACU PTP Core Competencies Training Modules was conducted from the 4th to 15 December 2017 in Johannesburg, during which 25 Member States officers were trained as national trainers in their respective administrations.

The development of the training modules is instrumental in the training of a critical mass of trainers at regional level and guides the training of operational officers at Member states level. Moreover, the availability of the critical mass of trainers on the SACU PTP Core Competencies will contribute significantly to the successful implementation of the Preferred Trade Programme at Member State level and ensure sustainability beyond the project lifespan.

For more information about the project, please contact M. Richard Chopra, WCO-Sweden Programme Director, Richard.Chopra@wcoomd.org