Global Objective:
To facilitate the implementation of a cost-effective Trade Information System for the Community through the provision of technical assistance to Member States and ECOWAS Institutions on Community integration and Trade information projects.

Customs – ASYCUDA & Regional Trade Information System (RTIS)
External Trade Statistics – EUROTRACE, ECOTRACE and RTIS
ECOWAS Institutions – Information Technology, Office systems, Networking, Web
ECOWAS Units – Technology, Software Trade Liberalization Scheme

Program Achievements
i) At the instance of the WCO, the CCC under the ALISA project, took over the funding and management of the PACIR project funded by the EU for the interconnection of customs computer systems of Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. The PACIR project was subsumed under the ALISA project and is being extended to the remaining Member States;
ii) In collaboration with the WCO and UNCTAD steering committee and technical committee meetings were held to plan for project roll-out;
iii) Similarly, initial related technical training was organized for customs software developers to develop and provide the solution to the regional customs network for transit trade (ALISA) beginning with the four (4) pilot countries under the PACIR project.

Program Objectives:
i) Development of the software solution for the customs regional transit interconnection project for the central regional site and the four pilot country sites;
ii) Deployment of the embryonic regional customs transit network for the four (4) pilot countries; and
iii) Continuation of the training and up-skilling of staff of ECOWAS institutions in Abuja and other Member States on new ECOWAS organizational intranet and e-mailing system.

Program Justification:
i) Decision C/DEC.4/6/86 on the procedures for the centralization of Customs and Statistical data.
ii) Decision C/DEC.3/11/86 on the rules and regulations governing the modalities for the establishment of statistics on the external trade of ECOWAS Member States.
iii) Strategic Goals and Objectives G.5.1.3 – Develop a suitable and sustainable training program for meeting skill requirements.

Program Operational Activities:
i) Technical assistance to Member States;
ii) Technical assistance to ECOWAS institutions;

SUB-PROGRAM 3.1:    TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO MEMBER STATES

Customs Interconnection (Implementation of the Regional Trade Information System)
The Ministers of Finance adopted the ALISA Customs Interconnection Project in November 2011 in Ouagadougou and called for its immediate implementation.
Therefore the activities under the RTIS includes training sessions and workshops for developers organized in collaboration the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as trainers is intended to assist the CCC and IT staff in customs administrations to provide a software solution to the envisaged regional transit network.

SUB-PROGRAM 3.2:    TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO ECOWAS INSTITUTIONS
The sub-program aims at modernizing the organization’s network, its work environment and up- skilling the workforce. Technical deployment activities including modernization of the physical cabling and wireless local area networks (LANs) and software upgrading are accompanying measures already underway.

(a) The staff of ECOWAS institutions are to be trained by CCC staff on the administrative support systems – systems developed and deployed on the organisation’s intranet covering all institutions, agencies and projects. The training follows in the wake of the installation and deployment of the organisation’s intranet to be carried out in all other ECOWAS institutions in the five Member States of: Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ghana, Senegal and Togo by CCC staff.
SUB-PROGRAM 3.3:    OPERATIONALING OF THE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR AUTOMATION OF TRADE (CEAT), LOME
a) The budget includes communications costs (Internet & Telephone), fuel, vehicle maintenance, equipment maintenance, stationery and office equipment, office supplies and coordination activities etc.

Posted in: CCC Programmes