Previous Page  74 / 132 Next Page
Information
Show Menu
Previous Page 74 / 132 Next Page
Page Background

Enhancing Public Availability of Customs Information

In the Islamic Countries

66

legal frameworks existed within the administration. This in turn lays the basis for disseminating

the information more widely, in particular once the TIP is fully operational.

Much legislation in Senegal is already published online through the

www.sec.gouv.sn

website,

but the TIP will improve this situation by ensuring coverage is comprehensive for trade, and

also dealing with the small number of regulatory measures yet to be identified and digitized. It

will also bring all sources together into a single interface geared towards the trade community.

A key issue identified by stakeholders is ensuring continuous, long-term operation of the TIP: as

a USAID-supported project, it will be important to identify additional sources of funding that

look beyond the initial implementation period of the TFA, to ensure that the advances that have

already been made, and will be made, in the area of information availability are consolidated.

Websites are available in French, and partially in English.

Means of Publication

Currently, Senegalese officials publish customs and other trade information in hard copy, and

also digitally through the Senegal Customs and GAINDE 2000 website. In the future, officials

will consolidate Customs and trade information through the GAINDE Integral website. This

overall framework, which strives to ensure the availability of trade and customs information to

the public, is part of Senegal’s broader ambition to move towards an IT-enabled digital economy,

undertaken through a vast E-government program. This platform is itself an integral part of the

Senegalese 2025 strategy which strives to achieve emerging market status. To that effect, the

government has put in place sector-specific programs that will help spell out priority action

plans as well as outline and define the roles of various parties.

Trade facilitation and logistics are featured prominently in the Senegalese government's digital

economy plan as well as through shallow integration Customs and trade-related infrastructure.

This policy shift will, however, result in less than optimal trade information made available to

relevant trade actors, particularly those in the private sectors. However, putting in place

strategies that strengthen collaboration among actors in line with relevant articles in the TFA

and a vibrant E-commerce expansion can help mitigate these effects.

The Senegalese state also envisages implementing equally ambitious legal and regulatory

reform and will move beyond the TFA requirements as well as focus on boosting electronic

transactions; promoting cybersecurity, cryptology and data protection. Such legal and

regulatory changes to ensure effective E-government will also require the state to align its

regulatory system to international standards.

Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)

Senegal has a government wide ICT policy and program spearheaded by the "Agence de

l’informatique de l’Etat (AIE)”, which is responsible for regulating and monitoring information

technology related endeavors by all government departments and public agencies. To that effect,

the AIE website

(https://www.adie.sn/

) will host the TIP.

As noted above, the government has also implemented an E-government strategy which is an

integral part of Plan Emerging Senegal (PES) that provides the current government's framework

for reaching emerging country status by 2035. The state also envisages further efforts through

the "Digital Senegal 2025" as well as through the Development Policy Operation for the World