The WCO organized a five-day Regional Workshop on Post Clearance Audit (PCA) for the West and Central Africa (WCA) region in Yaoundé, Cameroon from 9 to 13 January 2017, in cooperation with Cameroon Customs, which was sponsored by the Japanese Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF/Japan).

The 17 participants, representing 13 countries, attended the Workshop with a view to improving the operations of their individual PCA units. The objective of the Workshop was to assist administrations in the WCA region in implementing PCA more effectively in accordance with the WCO PCA Guidelines.

The Workshop was officially opened by Mr. Edwin Fongod, the Director General of Cameroon Customs, who emphasized the important role of PCA in making a Customs administration more effective. He encouraged participants to take advantage of the opportunity to share their PCA experiences and, at the same time, appreciate and learn from the experiences of others in the ongoing development of their respective PCA programmes.

WCO facilitators delivered presentations on the WCO PCA Guidelines, the Implementation Guidance on PCA and other tools covering areas such as policy management and PCA operations, as well as case studies to emphasize the various audit techniques that may be applied when conducting PCAs. Several participants gave presentations on the development of PCA in their respective countries, and the challenges they faced while conducting audits.

At the conclusion of the Workshop, the participants provided positive feedback on the lessons learned and experiences shared, and indicated a renewed determination to continue developing PCA as part of their Customs modernization efforts.