The Strategic Trade Control Enforcement (STCE) Programme starts the new year with a virtual national training for the Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS), from 18 to 21 January 2022.

The training was initially planned to be held live, but due to the new emerging variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its consequent travel restrictions, the WCO had to relocate it to the virtual environment, hoping to be able to follow up with an in-person visit later in the year.

The training was opened by welcome remarks from the WCO Security Programme Manager and from the Botswana Commissioner of Customs, Mr. Segolo Lekau, who emphasized the importance of the customs role in security related matters and expressed his gratitude to the WCO STCE Programme for its assistance in the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 in the Country.

The twenty-three officers attending the training had the opportunity to learn about strategic goods, their definition, components and technical characteristics, together with the different aspects regulating their transport and clearance. They asked several questions and expressed their interest in a deeper understanding of the subject.

The STCE Programme was supported for this event by three STCE accredited trainers from Angola, South Africa and Ghana, which had previously followed the Virtual Train the Trainer workshop in July 2021, in order to improve their ability to remotely deliver the curriculum and effectively engage the audience. At the same time, a colleague from BURS presented an overview of the national Strategic Trade Control system and the Implementation status of the UNSCR 1540.

The WCO Security Programme is planning both virtual and live events for the following months of 2022 in order to better support the WCO members in their struggle against terrorism. For more information on the Programme activities, please contact WCOSecurityProgramme@wcoomd.org.