An agreement signed between the World Customs Organization (WCO) and Bahamas Customs and Excise Department (BCD) in December 2017, activated the implementation of a comprehensive organizational development and training programme. This joint project is aligned with the execution of the Trade Sector Support Programme, financed by the Inter-American Development Bank. The Bahamas is seeking to accede to the WTO, and BCD has a crucial role in preparing The Bahamas to do so.
As part of ongoing engagement to strengthen customs management, modernize Customs operations, and enhance The Bahamas institutional trade platform, a WCO implementation planning mission was conducted from the 4th to 8th of June 2018. The implementation plan contains concrete steps, timetables, and performance indicators for the aligned to each of the recommendations made by the WCO during its March 2018 Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) scoping mission.
The March 2018 WCO mission report contained twenty (20) recommendations to assist BCD move forward in meeting the requirements of the TFA. Of the twenty (20) recommendations, two (2) were already fully underway and did not need to be included in this implementation plan, so the WCO team focused on the remaining eighteen (18) recommendations. BCD and the WCO team successfully worked together over the course of the week to develop a detailed implementation plan, including a logical framework for each of the 18 recommendations. In addition, the WCO team assured that the planned activities were synced with the ongoing training program to allow BCD to best leverage the various training and organizational development missions that the WCO is facilitating as part of the Trade Sector Support Programme.
The WCO looks forward to the continued engagement with BCD and the IDB as part of the Trade Sector Support Program. For more information about this activity, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org