World Customs Day Celebration:

Customs Officials Tasked To Fight Contraband
By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Customs boss presents gifts to retired personnel

The Minister of Finance has tasked Customs officials in Cameroon to go beyond their traditional mission of raising customs revenue and work towards protecting the economy by intensifying the fight against the importation of illicit and contraband products.
    Louis Paul Motaze, gave the directives Tuesday 28 January 2020 at the Yaounde 101 Military Air Base. It was during a ceremony to commemorate the 2020 International Customs Day. The event was under the theme “Customs fostering sustainability for people, Prosperity and the Planet”.
    “The customs has to work to make sure that our realisation as far as revenues are concern are met, protect our country by protecting the frontiers. We have been visiting what has been seized in the boundaries and we know the customs department is working hard about that,” Motaze said, adding, that they will try to meet the targets after embarking in a programme with the IMF in 2020 because of the hardworking nature of his collaborators in the Customs department.

    Motaze while lauding the role played by the customs sector in the socio-economic life of the country highlighted the new customs measures contained in the 2020 finance law which he said focuses on broadening the customs base, facilitating exchanges by improving on the business environment, accompanying firms operating in the economic disaster zones (NW, SW and Far North regions) and fighting against customs fraud.
    The Director General of Customs, Edwin Fongod Nuvaga in his welcome address disclosed that the sector raised over FCFA 971 billion as Customs revenue in 2019 with 840 billion directed to state budget. While promising better results for 2020, Fongod, revealed of the FCFA 971 billion realised in 2019, FCFA 35 billion was directed to transit rights for Cameroon-Tchad pipeline. The 2019 achievement he added witnessed a FCFA 46.7 billion increase in absolute terms and over 5% in relative terms as compared to the FCFA 925 billion that wa realised in 2018.
    Fongod saluted the interest attached to them by MINFI, MINDEF and the Commander of the Yaounde Air Force base in accompanying them in their activities alongside other partners.
Prior to the official commemoration, the 2020 customs activities was launched in Maroua by MINFI boss 16 January 2020 followed by health screening of personnel in Yaounde 22 January 2020 then a two-day customs business forum in Douala, sporting activities and a stakeholders night in Kribi.
    The event that brought together other three Ambassadors, other top government officials, administrative authorities was punctuated with presentation of gifts to retired Customs personnel, award of World Customs Organisation Certificates of Merits to some Customs units for outstanding results and the award of epaulettes to customs officers promoted to higher ranks.