Blog: Gabon Telecharger

The general customs division of Gabon presented the outline of its reform on 14 July in Libreville. A vast modernisation project intended to streamline administrative procedures, the reform is a favourable response to the expectations of businesses. Deciphering this new impetus to progress.

 In the presence of the main economic actors of the country, the general customs division of Gabon presented the outline of its reform intended to modernise its entities. The reform aims to revitalise Gabon’s international trade, the volume of which is continuously increasing, and comprises 3 major lines:

- Secure and sustain revenue
-Implement mechanisms to facilitate international trade
-Develop the requisite measures to combat fraud, smuggling and illegal traffic

Fridolin Onguinda, director general of Customs, explained this ambition, specifying that the customs services were “aware of the imperative nature of the issues at stake.” M. Onguinda further stated that “the Gabonese customs administration, within the framework of a global reflection, has laid the foundations for the modernising of its entities and procedures.”

Among the strong points of this customs reform is the reduction in customs clearance time “which could be brought down to 48 hours instead of a week”, according to Fridolin Onguinda.

This global project will be based on a dozen internal restructuring operations including the building of IT capacity, the rationalising of customs procedures, the strengthening of the administrative management of exemptions and the strengthening of customs surveillance.

Business enterprises will benefit most from this reform: an agreement framework is already in place. “In practice, it is a question of laying the foundations for a fruitful, mutually beneficial public/private partnership in the implementation of simplified customs clearance procedures and customs systems adapted to their activities”.

The stages deemed unnecessary will therefore be removed. Another strong point of the reform: the creation of the Corporate mission which will be devoted to a group of around 100 companies who generate 80% of customs revenue.

The reform of Gabon’s Customs is a modus operandi for supporting the development of economic activity in Gabon, a pillar of President Ali Bongo Ondimba’s Social project, aptly named “Emerging Gabon”. The modernisation of the customs service in Gabon will be the subject of a further symposium in Libreville on 11 and 12 October.