The use of the nCEN application in the East and Southern Africa region continues to grow as more and more countries are implementing the tool. With a strong campaign in 2015, the nCEN is currently a valuable enforcement and risk management operational tool in nine Administrations in East and Southern Africa, with four more ready for deployment in the upcoming months.
The WCO adopted a regionalized approach in the implementation of the nCEN, the objective of which is to enhance cooperation and communication among neighboring countries to achieve the same regional objectives. This approach was chosen not only to comply with the core aspects of the WCO capacity building activities which promote the benefits of the regional approach, but also in light of the fact that one of the main objectives of the nCEN application is to boost information-sharing between Customs Administrations on a regional and international scale.
With the goal of promoting regional collaboration on nCEN related matters, the WCO, with the support of the Regional nCEN Leader (Mauritius), organized two workshops for delegates from Administrations utilizing the nCEN application in East and Southern Africa at the Regional Training Center in Port Louis. Administrations using the nCEN in other regions were also invited to attend in order to share their experience and best practices with the application.
The main objective of the three-day Workshop for nCEN Project Leaders, which begun on 2 September 2015 with an opening ceremony presided by the Director General of Mauritius Revenue Authority Mr. S. Lal, was to present the latest nCEN system developments, to discuss matters related to nCEN usage, and to prepare a list of additional improvements to be incorporated into the software to improve its efficacy. The second Workshop for nCEN IT Experts on the other hand (7-9 September 2015), focused mainly on local maintenance of the nCEN, automatic updates of the application, and other technical novelties in the project. A regional nCEN IT team from different nCEN Administrations has been nominated to assist colleagues from the region with any technical difficulties that arise with the application, with the aim of building regional cohesion around the nCEN application, and ultimately increasing the benefits of this application to all.
The nCEN software is made available to all WCO Members free of charge. The costs of the hardware needed to run the nCEN application, the costs associated with the training, and possible costs for modifications to the local IT infrastructure (if applicable), are however the responsibility of the implementing Customs Administration. More information on the nCEN can be obtained by contacting the WCO CEN Program at nCEN@wcoomd.org.