INTRODUCTION

The African continent has many challenges that its leaders and development partners have been trying to tackle since the wave of independence that began in the 1960’s. It is now recognized that although for many countries these efforts made a difference in terms of reducing poverty levels and improving access to medical care and education, it is feared that the development model that was in use in much of the 1960’s to the 1980’s could not deliver sustainable development. Therefore in October 2001, African leaders adopted a new comprehensive, continental development strategy: the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NePAD).

New Partnership for Africa’s Development

NePAD is “a pledge by African leaders, based on a common vision, and a firm and shared conviction, that they have a pressing duty to eradicate poverty and to place their countries, both individually and collectively, on a path of sustainable growth and development, and at the same time to participate actively in the world economy and body politic.” The NePAD programme of action is anchored on “the determination of Africans to extricate themselves and the continent from the malaise of underdevelopment and exclusion in a globalizing world” (NePAD, October 2001). Since then, NePAD has achieved respectability among Africa’s development partners, and is the current framework for donor financing of a number of projects in different countries in the continent.

The NePAD initiative seeks a reversal of the debt deadlock, more integration of Africa into the multilateral trading system, and changing the general perception of the continent as conflict-prone, sick and donor-dependent, by focusing on the causes rather than merely seeking more aid or marginal concessions. It is based on a belief that the resources required to make a difference to the current situation are within reach, but we need “bold and imaginative leadership”, and a genuine partnership between Africa and the international community.

Link with Customs

Are there any linkages between customs and the NePAD initiative? A cursory reading of the NePAD document brings out the following potential areas of investigation for continent-wide scaling up of customs participation: information technology; regional integration; revenue collection; improving access for African goods to developed country markets; improving governance, promoting integrity and eradicating corruption; fighting trans-national organized crime; and supporting environmental conservation.

There is another link through the Doha round of the WTO, which resulted in the Doha Development Agenda. Developed countries are expected to provide technical assistance and capacity building to the less developed and developing countries to (a) enable them take part in the WTO negotiations in a spirit of mutual respect and partnership, and (b) enable them implement WTO agreements. For the first time in the history of the WTO, trade facilitation, one of the principal roles of customs, was introduced as a negotiating issue.

From the foregoing, it is clear that customs administrations have a major role to play in supporting the sustainable development of Africa. However, it is important to point out that in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, customs administrations are within semi-autonomous revenue agencies. This means that in our work in Africa, the focus is more than just customs: we must look at the needs of the whole agency, including the unique challenges of this organizational design feature.

As a regional office, we are committed to the CCES vision: to be recognized as the international centre of excellence for innovative training, education, professional development, consultancy and research in relation to customs and excise, international trade law and border security. More specifically, our work in Africa will be guided by the following principles:

· Commitment to learning and development through scholarship, enquiry, leadership and professional practice;

· Strengthening our capacity to achieve our vision and deliver on our mandate through collaboration with relevant regional, public and private sector organizations in Africa; and

· Developing products and delivering services that meet the unique requirements of our clients in Africa.

1. To provide world-class postgraduate programs in customs, domestic taxes, excise, international trade, logistics and border management that address the needs of the revenue administrations and the commercial sector in Africa;

2. To provide world-class specialist management and technical training relevant for customs, domestic taxes, excise, international trade, logistics and border management in response to the needs of revenue administrations and the commercial sector in Africa;

3. To ensure that the postgraduate programs and specialist management and technical training provided by CCES is accessible to clients in Africa;

4. To deliver client-focused consultancy and research services to revenue administrations, donor agencies, and private sector organizations.

In this part of the CCES web site, we shall highlight ongoing work in Africa, and post articles that generate debate hence assisting to clarify issues, point us to new areas of investigation, or even lessons learnt that can help others avoid dangerous pitfalls. Someone is bound to ask, so what after you have done all you have said? First and foremost, we hope to make a contribution, however modest, to developing the next generation of leaders and managers for the customs administrations and revenue agencies in Africa. Secondly, we hope to strengthen the capacity of African governments to boldly rise up to the challenges of creating a new Africa based on genuine partnership with the international community. Thirdly, we hope to strengthen the capacity of the private sector to engage meaningfully with governments on our areas of expertise and thus contribute to the sustainable development of Africa.

Please feel free to get in touch with us by telephone, fax or email on how we can work with you to make a positive difference in Africa.

CCES AFRICA