By Nyima Sillah
Mr. Yankuba Darboe, Commissioner General of the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA), has disclosed that capacity building and digitalization are the important nucleus (nuclei) for the efficiency of customs administrations.
The Commissioner General remarked on Monday at the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) advanced training centered on Rules of Origin for Customs Officials from different units and border stations within the Customs and Excise Department.
The five days training was organized under the framework of the Europe Union – World Customs Organization Rules of Origin Africa Programme, funded by the European Union, the World Customs Organization (WCO), in partnership with The Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA).
The training pave the way for a basic training on rules of origin held in Banjul in November 2022 to further assist the GRA in enhancing its knowledge of rules of origin in preparation for the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Commissioner General Darboe said, at the ongoing training, participants will be trained on concepts for proper origin determination, related operational and procedural issues, and the establishment of efficient origin management and origin criteria.
He said the WCO resource personnel will present the revenue package initiatives, including the guidelines on origin certification, preferential origin verification, and advance rulings, which have been designed to assist WCO members in bringing the provisions in free trade agreements into the application.
He noted that participants will further discuss specific areas of concern, including the low level of knowledge and use of the FTAs and challenges linked to administrative cooperation which were established during the basic training.
More so, he added, the EU-WCO Rules of Origin Africa Programme will continue to work with the GRA in the areas of training trainers, and this will equip Customs officials with extended knowledge of the rules of origin for efficient implementation and further assist them in training all relevant stakeholders.
Mr. Essa Jallow, the Deputy Commissioner General of the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA), emphasized that the vision and mission of GRA in achieving excellence is anchored on the strategic Plan 2020-2024.
He commended the selected officers for performing well during the previous training which qualified them to proceed to the five days training that opened on Monday, while urging the participants to build their capacities for the future.
Mr. Alhagie K. Mbye, Commissioner of Customs and Excise, described the training as timely considering the authority’s reform agenda and the challenges confronting international trade in terms of determining the origin of goods.