In January 2020, the Burkina Faso Customs Administration joined the WCO's Anti-Corruption & Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme for Customs, funded by Norad. With the support of officials from the A-CIP Programme and through the mobilization of a local coordination team, the Directorate General of Customs of Burkina Faso has just initiated the Scoping Phase of the Programme by carrying out several preparatory and launching actions within the unprecedented context of the Covid-19 crisis.
Carried out remotely because of the constraints imposed by the health crisis, both partners were required to adapt their working and intervention methods by relying on teleworking technologies, expertise and strong remote project management skills. The first activities consisted in agreeing on a remote collaboration approach and in developing a support kit, activity sheets and work tools.
In order to officially launch the Programme, a videoconference brought together on July 29, 2020, Mr. Elie Kalkoumdo, Director General of Customs of Burkina Faso and Ms. Andrea Hampton, Manager of the A-CIP Programme, as well as the steering team made up of administration’s contact points and members of the A-CIP team. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss the stakes, agree on the expected results and specify the working methods to be favored. The Director General recalled the strong commitment of the State of Burkina Faso, the government, the Ministry of Finance as well as the customs administration, as shown during the official presentation of the Customs Strategic Plan (2017-2021), in which the promotion of integrity plays an important role.
At the end of the meeting, the Director General shared his vision, his expectations and his commitment: “I sense enthusiasm from all internal and external players when they talk about the positive impact of our approach to fighting corruption and promoting integrity. The A-CIP Programme improves and strengthens the scope of our actions initiated to date. If I am clearly the bearer of the integrity file as Head of the customs administration in Burkina Faso, I note through our exchanges that we are all ready to support each other, as integrity is first and foremost a collective responsibility”.
For more information about the WCO A-CIP Programme, please visit the WCO A-CIP Programme page, or contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.