On 08 December 2022, the World Customs Organization (WCO) provided information about its Master Trainer Programme (MTP) conducted under the WCO/JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Joint Project. The MTP aims to develop sustainable training capacity by firstly developing a pool of qualified trainers, and by secondly developing regionally featured training materials and programmes to be used by these trainers. Upon completion of the MTP, successful alumni are expected to become a common asset of their region and the entire Customs community and contribute to the sustainable economic development of the region through Customs modernisation.
The MTP on Rules of Origin (RoO) was launched in September 2021. It now has 21 Customs administrations in Africa participating in it: eight (8) Customs Administrations in West Africa (WA), namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo; thirteen (13) Customs administrations in East and Southern Africa (ESA), namely Botswana, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, for the effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Both MTPs have been progressing effectively and smoothly, and the Working Group members (participants) are now developing their locally featured training material.
According to the WCO, through the discussions during the third Working Group activity for the ESA and the WA regions and the evaluation forms from WG members, the experts found that there was a need to acquire more knowledge on substantive matters in RoO, especially the practical side. To this end, three online intersessional activities were organised to enhance MTP WG members' knowledge and follow up on progress in the development of the training materials.
Three intersessional sessions were held on 22, 24 and 29 November 2022. The sessions started with a quick-fire quiz prepared by WCO and Japan Customs experts to evaluate the knowledge gained so far through the MTP activities and to respond to any issue or concern raised by the participants. The second part of the sessions mainly focused on a presentation by experts from Japan Customs that included a further explanation of the technical part related to RoO Matters. Another series of intersessional sessions will be organised at the beginning of 2023 to follow up on the development of the training materials in both the WA and ESA regions and to support the technical part, especially through case studies.