A regional meeting took place in Praia, Cabo Verde, on November 18, 2024, focusing on the Interconnected System for the Management of Goods in Transit (SIGMAT). This tool aims to facilitate customs data exchange among West African countries and was discussed in a conference organized by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).
The gathering sought to evaluate SIGMAT's deployment and its version 2.0 across ECOWAS Member States since its inception in 2019. Participants also addressed challenges faced during implementation.
Francis Sempore, Executive Director of the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), highlighted SIGMAT’s role in enhancing trade integration within West Africa. “Thanks to SIGMAT, West Africa is ready to stimulate trade integration and the interconnectivity of national customs systems to improve the fluidity of cross-border movements of goods,” he stated.
Osvaldo Rocha, Director of Customs for Cabo Verde, emphasized SIGMAT's significance for modernizing customs procedures in ECOWAS nations. “SIGMAT represents an essential tool for modernising our customs administrations, simplifying and harmonising customs transit procedures and promoting greater efficiency in the transport of goods in our region,” Rocha remarked.
He further noted Cabo Verde’s progress with Mobile SIGMAT to address specific logistical needs due to significant inter-island traffic. Bernard Tayoh from GIZ expressed satisfaction with their involvement since SIGMAT's development stages and affirmed ongoing support from GIZ alongside the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union.
The event concluded with presentations by Aïssata Yaméogo Koffi and Salifou Tiemtoré from the ECOWAS Commission that provided deeper insights into SIGMAT’s implementation.
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