WCO Diagnostic Mission to Liberia
June 2009
The WCO welcomes the Liberian Bureau of Customs and Excise as a new signatory to the SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade.
Upon kind invitation of the Hon. Deputy Minister of Revenue Ms Elfrieda Stewart Tamba, the WCO conducted in June 2009 a diagnostic mission to the Liberian Customs service aiming at a comprehensive assessment of the Liberian Customs Service and its capacity for reform and modernization. The mission concluded into a diagnostic report providing comprehensive recommendations for the future modernization of the Liberian Customs Service.
The diagnostic mission was well received in period where the Liberian Government is undertaking enormous efforts in institutional reform under difficult circumstances earmarked by the consequences of more than 14 years of civil war.
The WCO thanks the Liberian Bureau of Customs and Excise, specifically the Commissioner Decontee King Sackie, for the well arranged planning of the visit and emphasized its support for a sustained future collaboration in building the Customs capacity.
This mission got enabled thanks to the financial contribution of the Norwegian Agency for Development Corporation (NORAD) to WCO Capacity Building activities.
The WCO is particularly grateful to the Ghanaian Customs service for the contribution of the senior Customs advisor, Mr. Akwasi Yankyera, to this mission. His comprehensive operational and strategic experience in the specific geographical and regional ECOWAS context was of great value.