Since Monday, June 5, the Togolese capital has hosted a meeting to assess the interconnection of computer systems between West African customs. The five-day meeting which brings together West African customs administrations is part of the Transit Goods Interconnection and Management System (SIGMAT) project.
During the meeting, customs officials from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo will examine the memorandums of understanding for the effective operationalization of the SIGMAT on the corridors of the eight countries initially, then on all the corridors of the sub-region. The meeting could therefore lead to the adoption of SIGMAT.
According to the organizers, this project is initiated to facilitate the exchange of information relating to goods in transit between the customs of ECOWAS countries.
The main goal is to considerably reduce waiting times at borders, in order to lighten the burden on customs administrations and economic operators. The device will also make it possible to track goods from their place of departure to their destination.