In support of its broader Customs Capacity Building agenda, the WCO in partnership with the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) organized a Leadership and Management Development (LMD) Workshop from 7 September untill 18 September, 2015 for 22 senior managers in Arusha. The overall objective of the two-week interactive workshop was to strengthen senior management capacity to lead and drive reforms within TRA.

The workshop brought together a diverse group of senior managers from TRA Customs and its other relevant units and departments. Throughout the workshop many of the current and future challenges of the TRA were discussed. A wide range of topics were covered, such as change management, visioning, strategic management, negotiations, people management and strategic and personal communication. The workshop reinforced the importance of leadership and management skills, as well as the responsibility at all management levels of the organization, to drive modernization and change throughout the TRA.

For many of the participants the workshop turned out to be not only practical, but it was a real first step towards a positive change in their individual leadership and management approaches. Feedback included highlights in the areas of self-awareness, personal leadership and influencing others. Overall the group was a highly participative and dedicated towards learning and gaining new experiences and skills

Commissioner General of TRA, Mr. Bade, emphasized the importance of the Leadership and Management Development for TRA and invited all participants to put their new acquired knowledge and experiences into practice for the benefit of the whole organisation. The Commissioner General also expressed an intention to arrange another LMD workshop in the near future in Tanzania.

The event was funded with the generous support of the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs through the ESA Project "Building Capacity through Customs Modernization in the East and Southern Africa Region".

For more information on the WCO Leadership and Management Development Programme, please contact Capacity.Building@wcoomd.org.