Memorandum of Understanding Signing in Canberra will Provide Customs Training in Africa

16 June 2005

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be signed on Thursday, 16 June 2005 between the Kenyan Revenue Authority and the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies at the University of Canberra.

The MOU will allow the Kenyan Revenue Authority and the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies to work closely together to develop and deliver a comprehensive programme of customs training and education.

Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner General Mr. M. G. Waweru hopes that through the partnership with the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies, Kenya Revenue Authority in particular, and the revenue administrations of the East and Southern Africa region and Africa in general will play their rightful role in bringing wealth and prosperity to the respective countries.

"The partnership with the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies will also help the university bridge the gap between the theory and practice of tax, customs and excise, especially in Africa," He says, "With the anticipated establishment of the East and Southern Africa Customs Capacity Building in Kenya, our two organizations will further leverage their synergies for the benefit of our organizations, our countries and the world at large."

The University of Canberra, through the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies is the only university in the world offering postgraduate programs in customs law and administration. The Centre works with customs officers in 54 countries and the Kenyan Revenue Authority is the second authority in Africa to establish a formal relationship with the Centre through the signing of a MOU.

The CEO of the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies, Dr David Widdowson is delighted to be signing the MOU with the Kenyan Revenue Authority as it represents an important strategic alliance for the Centre.

"The Kenyan Revenue Authority was recently appointed by the World Customs Organisation as the Regional Training and Capacity Building Coordinator for 21 countries in East and Southern Africa. We will be working with them to provide quality training for customs officers in the whole region," Dr Widdowson said.

"This region faces unique developmental and customs challenges including human resources with the capacity to proactively manage change, financial resources, working institutions and physical infrastructure," Mr. Waweru said, "the region covers four regional economic blocs, three official languages, and 11 of the 21 countries have revenue authorities."

The signing will take place at 10.00 am on Thursday, 16 June in the University of Canberra Council Room in Building 1.

Notes to Editors

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) was formed in 1995. The Commissioner General is the Chief Executive, and reports to an independent Board of Directors. However, the Minister for Finance is responsible for policy direction since KRA is an agent of government. KRA is currently undertaking an ambitious reform and modernisation programmes to enhance revenue collection, promote better relationships with stakeholders, improve business processes to achieve high quality service delivery, and develop a motivated and professional workforce.

In the financial year 2003/2004, KRA surpassed the set government revenue targets for the first time in the history of Kenya. In the financial year 2004/2005, KRA has already surpassed the set targets for the year, with one month's collection remaining. KRA is therefore a strategically important organization in the Kenya government's efforts to mobilise domestic resources to implement its Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation.

In June 2004, KRA signed a Memorandum of Understanding recognizing the KRA Training Institute as a World Customs Organization Regional Training Centre for the East and Southern Africa region.

The East and Southern Africa region covers the following 21 countries: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. All these countries are classified as either least developed or developing, some are landlocked (e.g. Burundi, Lesotho, Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda and Zambia) and others are small island developing states (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles).

The region covers four regional economic blocs, namely the East African Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the Indian Ocean Commission and the Southern Africa Development Community. Three official languages are spoken in the region, i.e. English, French and Portuguese. Most of these countries are Anglophone, except Burundi and Comoros (Francophone) and Angola and Mozambique (Lusophone).

In terms of organisational design, 11 of the 21 countries (i.e. Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) have revenue authorities.

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