Improving the Border Agency Cooperation
Among the OIC Member States for Facilitating Trade
67
coordinate development programs in all aspects of economic and social
development.105
Southern African
Development
Community –
SADC
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental
organisation with headquarters in Gaborone, Botswana. The main goals are to
achieve development, peace and security and economic growth, to alleviate poverty
and to enhance the standard and quality of life of the peoples of Southern Africa.
While there are 15 members in SADC, Mozambique is the only OIC country
involved. One of the SADC integration milestones is the establishment of a Customs
Union, implying future cooperation on customs and trade. SADC also established a
free trade area in 2008, and 12 of its member states have signed free trade
agreements.106
West African
Economic and
Monetary Union -
WAEMU
The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), also known by its
French acronym, UEMOA, was founded in 1994. Today it comprises eight OIC
members, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger,
Senegal and Togo. It aims towards greater regional integration and creation of a
unified external tariff. It has established a common accounting system, periodic
reviews of member states' macroeconomic policies based on convergence criteria, a
regional stock exchange and the legal and regulatory framework for a regional
banking system.107
Source: Organization websites and documents
3.3.3. Country initiatives
There are a number of country-specific initiatives within the African Region. In the following,
examples from five countries: Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal and Togo, as well as an
incerpt of the West Africa Joint Border Post Program will be presented. Furthermore, a full
case study on Uganda in Chapter 4 of this report is presented. Also our non-OIC case on Zambia
and Zimbabwe (Chapter 2) is highly relevant for the region.
BAC in Burkina Faso: Building the capabilities with the help of global solutions
Burkina Faso has been actively building their customs capabilities over the past ten years. The
country is currently in the process of upgrading the Asycuda++ software to the most recent
Asycuda World edition. The Asycuda World helps border control agencies in Burkina Faso to
further automate and control cross-border formalities and traffic. The country is also implementing
a new digital platform for all public and private government agencies to handle documents and
information related to the cross-border trade. This new single window solution is expected to
accelerate the cross-border traffic and make it more cost-efficient for the private sector. Burkina
Faso customs is also implementing the key standards of the WCO’s Revised Kyoto Convention and
the SAFE Framework of Standards, and the country is committed to establish a national AEO
program.108
BAC in Cote d’Ivoire: Improving the regional connectivity
10 7 May 2016)
10 (accessed 8 May 2016)
1
accessed 8 May 2016)
108 National workshop on the implementation of the Revised Kyoto Convention and the SAFE Framework of Standards.
accessed 5 April 2016)