In October 2018, the German Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) contracted the WCO to support the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) in the implementation of a trade facilitation project.

The GIZ funding and the assistance provided by the WCO enabled the GRA to  achieve the following: measure release times for import containers at the seaport of Banjul and publish a Time Release Study (TRS) report with recommendations for faster and less costly clearance;  develop strategies for Enterprise and Customs’ Risk management and for Compliance Management; define Risk registers;  assist Risk management trainers in developing training material and delivering training to GRA enforcement officers; improve the GRA’s offence database.

Overall, the WCO mobilized 13 highly qualified experts to support the planning and implementation of the project. Nine of them were made available by the Customs of Botswana, Brazil, Cameroun, Mauritius, North Macedonia, South Africa and Uganda. The other resource persons were made available by the WCO Secretariat. The project also provided an opportunity to actively involve the Regional Office for Capacity Building of the WCO West and Central Africa region and to compensate their work with a financial contribution that will enable them to further develop its support to WCA Members.

The WCO expresses its gratitude to GIZ and the German Government for the financial support of this project and congratulates the GRA for their achievements. The experts and their home administrations are thanked for their availability and their expertise and the Uganda Revenue Authority for having provided 10 GRA officers with an opportunity to conduct a perfectly organized study visit in their country.

For more information please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org