Banjul, 4-8 December 2017

The WCO participated in an important regional meeting held in Banjul, Gambia 4-8 December to discuss ways to fight corruption and enhance Integrity among the Customs authorities in the West Africa region.  Hosted by the IMF, six WCO members from the region participated (Cabo Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone) along with representatives from the ECOWAS Secretariat

Speaking at the opening forum, The Gambia Revenue Authority’s Commissioner General Yankuba Darboe, pointed out that the fight against corruption requires strong leadership and concerted efforts of all stakeholders involved as well as strong institutions and policies.  This is in line with the Arusha Declaration on Customs Integrity and the WCO Secretary General’s recent advocacy of Collective Action in combatting corruption.

The WCO representative offered participants an in-depth view of the tools and instruments available to WCO members, most notably the Integrity Development Guide, which participants utilised during the week to draft Integrity Action Plans for their respective countries.

The WCO looks forward to continuing to work in partnership with institutions such as the IMF and ECOWAS to offer a robust regional and international framework to support its members in their efforts to combat corruption and promote integrity in Customs.

For more information on the WCO’s tools and activities in the area of Integrity, please visit the Integrity pages of our website found under Topics in the main menu.