From 20-28 November 2023, the Tanzanian Revenue Authority (TRA) and WCO experts met with various stakeholder groups across the country to discuss the next steps in working together to fight corruption and promote integrity. Meetings were held in Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Mwanza. The initiative contributed to Tanzania’s specific priority as defined in its project plan as a partner administration of the WCO Anti-Corruption and Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme. This priority, “Mutual trust and cooperation between the private sector and customs increased”, is aligned with the WCO Revised Arusha Declaration key factor, Relationship with Private Sector.
Following initial training for Customs officials on stakeholder engagement, TRA officials were able to put new knowledge into practice during meetings conducted with Customs brokers, importers and exporters in those three regions of the country. During these meetings, the most important issues currently facing stakeholders were discussed. TRA and the stakeholders analyzed the results of the Customs Integrity Perception Survey (CIPS) that was carried out in Tanzania in 2020 with the support of the WCO A-CIP Programme. Agreements were reached on the priority issues with a commitment to working together on them.
Once again, the importance of working together and effective communication was evident. Continuing along these lines is one of the main commitments acquired in these sessions.
The WCO A-CIP Programme supports more than 20 WCO Member administrations, with funding from Norad and Canada. For more information, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.