The WCO held a Pre-Accreditation Workshop on Risk Management, generously hosted by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in Pretoria, South Africa, from 27 to 31 May 2024.  The workshop was organized for qualified candidates from the WCO West & Central Africa and the East & Southern African regions and made possible under the framework of the Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme, which is funded by the United Kingdom.

The workshop was a response to the growing need for capacity-building support to enable Customs administrations deploy risk management to comply with Article 7.4 of the WTO TFA and effectively meet their revenue collection, trade facilitation and social protection goals.

The workshop aimed to create a pool of highly competent pre-accredited Technical and Operational Advisors (TOA) to lead capacity-building missions in Risk Management for WCO Members. Following a competitive selection process, twelve candidates from Eswatini, Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia participated, each showcasing their expertise in developing and enhancing Risk Management. The workshop also promoted peer-to-peer learning, knowledge sharing, and discussions on challenges and solutions related to emerging trends in illicit financial flows, smuggling techniques, and other risks impacting Customs' strategic objectives.

During the workshop's closing, the responsible officer for the SARS National Targeting & Operations Centre, on behalf of the hosting administration, underscored the importance of Customs-to-Customs cooperation for capacity building and data exchange to manage global supply chain risks. He also emphasized the importance of tools like the WCO’s Customs Enforcement Network (CEN) for providing intelligence to develop risk models that enforce compliance and detect illicit activities.

Participants who successfully completed the pre-accreditation workshop will move on to the next stage of the WCO expert accreditation process, including national and regional workshops, as pre-qualified WCO experts in Risk Management. As part of this second phase of the accreditation process, they will be invited to an in-country mission as co-facilitators to demonstrate their technical, behavioural, and leadership skills.
For more information on the Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme, please see here.

For more information on WCO capacity building, please contact Capacity.Building@wcoomd.org.