On 26-30 September, under the aegis of the WCO Anti-Corruption & Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme, WCO Experts met with Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) officials to support the monitoring and implementation of integrity initiatives in the area of Customs operations in line with the Revised Arusha Declaration.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Godfrey O. Kitundu, Deputy Commissioner for Customs and Excise, highlighted the importance of measuring Customs operations effectively to ensure, promote and monitor integrity. In this regard, he referred to the necessity of reviewing the existing Anti- Corruption Action Plan of the Tanzania Revenue Authority.

Through the establishment of evidence-based performance measurement system in line with the WCO ongoing work for the development of the WCO Performance Measurement Mechanism (PMM), TRA officials were invited to reflect on the methodology to develop the indicators for measuring the effectiveness and efficiency of Customs operations to monitor integrity. The discussions tied the lessons learned to specific targets and indicators to be addressed and reviewed in the updated Anti- Corruption Action Plan of the Tanzania Revenue Authority. With the aim of setting result-oriented targets and objectively verifiable indicators for the Anti- Corruption Action Plan, the importance of enhanced coordination across the TRA departments was highlighted throughout the discussions.

The Commissioner General, Mr. Alphayo J. Kidata and the Commissioner for Customs and Excise, Mr. Said Athumani, welcomed the outcomes of the discussions and stressed the importance of sustainable partnership with the WCO A-CIP to ensure the follow-up and the implementation of the initiated activities.

The WCO A-CIP Programme  currently supports more than 20 countries in five WCO regions, with funding from Norad and Canada.

For more information, please, contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.