Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) on Tuesday 9th January 2024, commenced two days stakeholders’ sensitization seminar on Coordinated Border Management (CBM) as a first step in the implementation of CBM, geared towards preparing all relevant stakeholders on the strategies and policies.
The two days sensitization brought participants from all security sectors, among other representatives from the office of the President, GCCI, MOFEA, Trades, food safety, transports union, just to name a few. The event was organised by GRA and funded by French Development Agency.
Addressing the gathering, the Commissioner of Customs Alhagie K. Mbye on behalf of the Commissioner General said Coordinated Border Management – A New, Old Concept? He says Coordinated Border Management (CBM) refers to a coordinated approach by border control agencies, both domestic and international, in the context of seeking greater efficiencies over managing trade and travel flows, while maintaining a balance with compliance requirements.
According to Mr. Mbye CBM concept is not a new one. That the World Customs Organization had published the Customs Compendium for Integrated Border Management in 2006 that outlines the key elements of an Integrated Border Management System, as well as planning and implementation issues.
He said many of these elements addressed in the Compendium published in 2006 are still relevant today. ‘’Over the years, variations of the term had surfaced across various forums. It is known as “Integrated Border Management” by the European Union, “Collaborative Border Management” by the World Bank and “Comprehensive Border Management” by the OSCE.’’
‘’These terms all refer to very similar things, which is essentially the holistic approach involving all cross-border regulatory agencies so that their regulatory functions are discharged in a coordinated manner,’’ he explained.
In this compendium, he went on, the term “Coordinated Border Management” was adopted in favour of the former name “Integrated Border Management” due to the fact that “Integrated” seemed to pre-suppose structural and institutional integration, which potentially narrows the scope of the concept – the WCO believes that CBM is much broader in the sense that resources, functions, processes and legislations have to be mobilized around a shared vision of effective and efficient border management and there are several solutions to achieve that where an integration of services is just one of the option.
‘’Level of Formality in Collaborative Interactions It is likely that all Cross-Border regulatory agencies engage with each other to varying degrees – interactions can take place between individuals at a personal level, or they could be encapsulated into work instructions, operational arrangements, or in more formal settings, defined through laws, regulations and agreements. Coordinated Border Management is more focused with the latter,’’ he added.
“It is posited that while ad-hoc and informal arrangements exists, and can do some good in improving the situation at the border, they are unsustainable and will very quickly reach a point of diminishing returns. Informal arrangements that are not structured and backed by official arrangements, also gives rise to unpredictability and irregularities that can detract from goods,’’ Mr. Mbye concluded.