Under the framework of the West African Customs Modernization Project (WACAM) financed by Sweden, the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) benefitted from a Customs-specific training in project and change management which took place on 11 – 16 February 2018 in Banjul. At this occasion, the WCO had the opportunity to deliver another iteration of its newly developed Customs-specific project management training package, which was also developed under the auspices of the WCO-WACAM Project.

The training enabled 20 high-level participants, including four female participants, to enhance their capacities in project management - to design, implement, monitor and evaluate modernization and reform projects within their administration. The workshop, which targeted middle and senior management at GRA, focused on core project management issues, including the project cycle, problem definition, project governance, logic modeling, performance measurement, risk management and stakeholder mapping.   

The workshop was highly interactive and was based on a mixed learning method, through the use of presentations alongside case studies conducted in groups on GRA-specific projects.  On the last day of the workshop, the participants presented their projects to a mock board, which included the WCO experts and the Commissioner of Customs, and which required each project team respond to unforeseen challenges.

In his closing remarks, the Commissioner-General of the GRA, Mr. Yaukuba Darboe, expressed an appreciation of the level of commitment that his staff had demonstrated and thanked them for making the training successful. Commissioner Darboe also encouraged his senior managers to continue working hand in hand as a team by showing solidarity with each other through commitment and dedication.  He said that there was nothing more beautiful than teamwork by helping each other and respect each other’s work.

This training will enable the GRA to develop its own project management methodology, and enhance capacities against the organizational project management framework.

For further information about this activity or about the WCO-WACAM Project, please contact the WCO-Sweden Programme Director, Mr. Richard Chopra (Richard.Chopra@wcoomd.org).