Under the auspices of the WCO-ESA Project II (financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland), the WCO provided support to the Regional Training Centre (RTC) in Kenya from 27 to 29 June 2017. The overarching objective of this mission was to strengthen the regional network within the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region according to the Capacity Building approach.

The WCO and the RTC staff carried out a joint diagnostic of WCO RTC Kenya in its capacity to act as a Centre of Excellence in the area of the Economic Competitiveness Package within the ESA region. RTC Kenya certainly makes a significant contribution in hosting key regional events in the region, and the aim of this mission was to ensure continued increase of its potential.

The roles and responsibilities of RTC Kenya were clearly exposed and defined, in order to enhance the operational delivery of Capacity Building initiatives in the ESA region. Reviewing the Best Practices Guidance for the WCO Regional Entities enabled beneficiaries to benchmark other RTCs’ practices and challenges. From the discussions and analysis a number of recommendations emerged, aiming at addressing the listed challenges and enhancing RTC Kenya’s capability to develop and deliver training at the regional level.

The RTC staff was very committed within the process of this RTC review and achieved making concrete and realistic recommendations for the future of the RTC, to be implemented in the short and medium terms.  The follow-up of this mission will contribute to foster RTC Kenya’s autonomy and preparedness to establish sustainable methods for the design, management, delivery and monitoring of WCO Capacity Building activities for ESA Members.