The WCO-Ghana-Liberia tripartite agreement, signed in Brussels during the 2011 WCO Council Sessions, endeavors to support the Customs reform and modernization efforts of the Liberian Bureau of Customs and Excise (LBCE) in key priority areas, which include, among others, land border and seaport operations, risk management and statistics.

This "tri-partite agreement" is an integral component of the West African Customs Administration Modernization (WACAM) project, funded by the Swedish International Development cooperation Agency (Sida).

In the margins of the 2012 WCO Council Sessions, discussions on the delivery of support to LBCE under this agreement took place between the WCO, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and LBCE officials. Following these discussions and subsequent work, 11 missions had been agreed upon by all relevant parties. The WACAM Project is pleased to report that 7 of the planned missions have been carried out from September 2012 to June 2013; demonstrating the firm commitment of the WCO, GRA and LBCE to delivering capacity-building support to the LBCE.

In the framework of the monitoring and evaluation efforts focusing on the tripartite agreement, a two-day (1-2 July 2013) workshop on Results-Based Management (RBM) and WCO Capacity-Building Tools was facilitated by the WACAM Project Manager in Brussels for GRA and LBCE officials. The workshop served to further coordinate the tripartite agreement efforts at national level. As a result of this highly interactive workshop, participants have increased their knowledge on RBM and on how to apply RBM principles and tools in the implementation of the tripartite agreement. Previous missions’ outputs were revised by the participants based on this knowledge and new modalities of delivering and receiving the remaining foreseen missions under the tripartite agreement have been set out by all parties.

After a feedback session with the participants, the WCO Deputy Director Capacity Building emphasized that the workshop was a very positive development to the overall implementation and success of the tripartite Agreement. She congratulated participants on their strong commitment throughout the workshop and encouraged them to utilize the experience gained to jointly drive the project forward.

This successful workshop and cooperation is, yet, another embodiment of the WACAM Project’s commitment to support the modernization efforts of Member Administrations in West Africa!

For more information or queries, please contact the WCO WACAM Project Manager, Mr. Richard Chopra (Richard.chopra@wcoomd.org).