This was during the 10th edition of the Stakeholders’ Night
which took place on February 2, 2018.
The 10th
edition of the come-together between the Customs Department and the business
community code-named ‘Stakeholders Night’ took place on February 2, 2018 at the
Sawa Hotel in Douala with a host of dignitaries and business magnets present.
Speaking
during the opening ceremony, the Director General of Customs, Edwin Fongod
Nuvaga, said the night was instituted to celebrate partnerships, evaluate the
path covered as well as pave the way forward. He disclosed that despite a
hostile economic environment in 2017, customs revenue witnessed an increase of
FCFA 53.3 billion. He also urged his collaborators to redouble their efforts
and work towards better performance and reinforcement of governance.
The
Director General of SABC, Emmanuel de Tailly, who spoke on behalf of the
partners congratulated the Customs Department for the increase in revenue and
for honouring them. He however advised the department to reduce the time for
clearing goods from the port by digitalising the process. He also pleaded the
institution to fight against illicit trade and assure quality control in
collaboration with ANOR in order to achieve greater performance.
The
views of the SABA boss were corroborated by the Minister of Finance, Alamine
Ousmane Mey accompanied to the occasion by his colleagues of the CEMAC region
who were in Douala for the Conference of Ministers meeting. Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey suggested the
department should ease formalities and curb delays in releasing goods through
modernisation, simplification, as well as cost and time reduction.
He
congratulated the customs officials for their performance in 2017 and reminded
them of their FCFA 800 billion revenue target in 2018. It is worthy to mention
that the 10th edition of the Stakeholder Night coincided with the International
Customs Day celebrated on the theme “a sure commercial environment at the
service of economic development.”
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