The first phase of the WCO – WACAM project has achieved positive results in the ECOWAS countries in three cross- cutting areas, namely: HRM, stakeholder engagement and resource mobilization.

During the last meeting of Directors General of the West and Central Africa region, the WCO was approached to extend the WACAM support to the Customs administrations of the Central African sub-region, especially in the area of HRM. In response, the WCO – WACAM project organized a regional workshop in Abidjan from 4 to 8 May 2015 for the HR managers of the region. The aim of this workshop was to equip participants with basic knowledge of competency based HRM which will allow the participants to effectively pilot HR modernization in their Customs administrations.

The Customs administration of Cameroon has invested voluntarily in the modernization of its human resources by installing a performance management system based on performance contracts, the development of a training and skills development strategy as well as the promotion of ethics. Nevertheless, this modernization process encountered some obstacles and the WCO was requested to provide support. A mission took place in Douala from 5 to 9 October 2015 and supported the modernization team to build their capacities concerning HR and the management of HR projects.

The mission resulted in the finalization and validation of a job catalogue, a skills catalogue and a number of job descriptions. Overall, this mission has allowed the project group to take ownership of the development of staff planning tools and equipped them for the next steps of the project that involves communication and change management in the framework of HRM. An action plan, which will serve as a roadmap, has been developed with support of the WCO. Finally, it was decided that the HR strategy and all remaining staff planning tools, namely the competency catalogue and the remaining job descriptions, will be finalized and validated by the end of June 2016.

For more information, please contact the WCO- WACAM project manager, Mr. Richard Chopra (richard.chopra@wcoomd.org).