To reinvigorate and support the reform of Central African Customs, the WCO is committed to supporting this Administration in a more sustainable way through its Mercator programme. It is in this context that the first workshop, financed by the Japan Customs Cooperation Fund, of the said programme took place in Bangui from 9 to 20 October 2017. It was a 10-day workshop on Leadership and Management, facilitated by experts from French Customs and the WCO Secretariat, for the benefit of 20 female and male Customs officers. This initiative has helped to build a visionary and cohesive leadership team that can drive and guide the ambitious reform Customs needs to move closer to the WCO vision of modern Customs of the 21st Century, and this particularly through the participants new acquisitions and their ability to manage change through leadership, strategic management, responsive management styles, modern people management, integrity promotion, and communication and negotiation skills.
This first workshop will be followed by other actions that will further professionalize managers and Customs staff, particularly in the areas of strategic management, project management and more technical aspects related to the main mission of a modern Customs, including the facilitating and securing of trade, the equitable collection of Customs revenue and the protection of society that this country badly needs.