As part of the (WACAM) Project, funded by Sweden, the Customs Administration of Guinea is receiving support in the field of stakeholder engagement.  This support consists of two components, an enforcement component and a trade facilitation component.

The WACAM Project is providing support to Guinea to boost its capacity in conducting enforcement operations in cooperation with other government agencies operating at the border.  It was therefore important to equip the Customs Administration with the national Customs Enforcement Network (nCEN) application, to enable it to carry out this type of operation more effectively.  The Customs Administration of Guinea received support from the Project for purchasing the nCEN application in early 2017.  In addition, the WACAM Project ran a capacity building workshop in Guinea from 27 February to 7 March 2017, in Conakry, to train Customs officials in the rollout and effective use of the nCEN application.  Participants in this training were mainly from the Intelligence, Risk Analysis and Compliance Division (DRAROC) as well as the Training Division.  The National Contact Point (NCP) from the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for West Africa (RILO-WA), an advanced user of the WCO’s CEN, also participated in this training as an experienced observer.

Training initially focused on the functions of the WCO’s information management tools, after which participants were given in-depth instruction in using the features of the nCEN application, including its administrative tools.  The final phase of this training was dedicated to demonstrating the application’s statistical functions for data analysis aimed at guiding compliance measures.

After the training, with the trainers in attendance, the Director General of Customs stressed that this application had strategic value for his Administration and reiterated that it would be a focal point.  He thanked the WCO for its efforts and for the support received through the WCO under the WACAM Project, and pledged his commitment to making effective and continued use of the nCEN application made available to his Administration.
For more information about this mission and the WACAM Project in general, please contact the Director of the WCO-Sweden Programme, Mr. Richard Chopra (richard.chopra@wcoomd.org).

For more information on the nCEN, please contact the WCO CEN Programme at the following address: nCEN@wcoomd.org.