The training was presided over the deputy commissioner and head of Domestic Tax at GRA, Essa Jallow, with technical expert from RAMSYS Training Centre in Ghana.
The training brought some senior staff of GRA and was held at the Senegambia Beach Hotel from 16th to 21th November 2020.
In his welcoming remark on behalf of the project director, Alhagie Mbye, deputy commissioner of Customs and Monitoring Unit expressed gratitude and welcomed the participants to a seminar he described as very important. He added that this vital training is designed to achieve the strategic goals of the Asycuda World implementation project.
According to Mr. Mbye, in order to improve efficiency in domestic revenue mobilisation, GRA, supported by its line ministry has sought assistance to upgrade its current Asycuda ++ System to the latest version called Asycuda World, citing that an agreement was signed between The Gambia government and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on the implementation of the Asycuda World Project.
However, he said this training would therefore give the participants the skills and knowledge needed to come up with a much expected and valuable business process document. He therefore implored the participants to take the training seriously, endeavour to attend on time and gain the required knowledge and skills.
Declaring the training open, the deputy commissioner and head of Domestic Tax, Essa Jallow, expressed delight for presiding over the opening of “this very important” training – which is part of the implementation of the GRA ASYCUDA World Project.
He said the delivery of this training is an important milestone in the overall project implementation as capacity building is a recipe for success in this endeavour.
“I want to remind you that the ASYCUDA World Project has been rolled over from the 2015-2019 Corporate Strategic Plan to the current one running from 2020-2024. As you may all know, GRA is in the process of rethinking and redesigning the way we work to better support the Authority’s Vision and Mission.”
However, Mr. Jallow in that regard stated that the Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) Document was successfully drafted with fourteen Customs processes re-engineered.
“However, UNCTAD Experts advised that the functional team be trained on BPR, the document be revisited before it is laid before the steering committee for validation and approval.
According to Mr. Jallow, it’s due to the Covid-19 pandemic that activities like this training have been seriously delayed. “At this juncture, let me acknowledge the trainers from RAMSYS Training Centre of Ghana who are here to deliver the training for the participants.”
“The Board and Management of GRA attach a lot of importance to this project and the training in particular as part of the reforms we are ushering in to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our customs administration, the delivery of quality services to the importers, exporters, clearing and forwarding agents and shipping lines.”
“There is no doubt that the implementation of the Asycuda World Project will significantly enhance the efficiency of our customs operations, contribute positively to our trade facilitation agenda and reduce the compliance cost for the international trade actors.”
