Customs officers and private sector stakeholders generally feel that achieving a high level of integrity is a priority within their respective administrations.
That’s according to a survey undertaken by the World Customs Organization aimed at assessing the perception of Customs integrity by Customs officers as well as private sector stakeholders.
Additionally, more than half of the private sector stakeholders surveyed do not comply with the rules set by administrations because they consider these rules to be overly complex.
The survey was conducted in 10 countries, namely Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Tunisia and Tanzania in collaboration with Ipsos, and was structured around the ten key factors of the Revised Arusha Declaration, which is the declaration of the Customs Cooperation Council concerning integrity in Customs.
It was conductedbetween January and February, and in total 2 793 private sector representatives and 3 019 Customs officials were surveyed.
“It provides insights into the perceived success rates of Customs administrations in promoting integrity and combating corruption and will therefore assist participating administrations in measuring their performance in these areas,” according to the WCO.
The Customs organisation says that the results of the survey cannot be published.
