On 07 September World Customs Organization (WCO) representatives virtually met with the newly appointed Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) Commissioner General (CG) to discuss the WCO's Anti-Corruption & Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme for Customs.
The WCO A-CIP Programme in Malawi is timely as the CG stated his intention to re-energise and embed integrity within his organisation’s culture. Furthermore, the discussions emphasised the fact that all initiatives to fight corruption and promote integrity, including those under the WCO A-CIP Programme, needed to be clearly articulated across the administration’s corporate strategy and linked with performance indicators to ensure words converted into concrete actions.
As integrity is a responsibility of all, both MRA and the WCO acknowledged the importance of engaging both internal and external stakeholders in a collective action against corruption.
Launched in January 2019, the A-CIP, funded by Norad, responds to the recognised the high costs of corruption in Customs. The Programme aims at improving the business environment for cross-border trade in selected WCO members by making changes to the operational and administrative context that restricts corrupt behaviour and promotes good governance in customs operations and administration.
Story by: Riaan de Lange