Organisational Design of Customs in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Critical Evaluation

Abstract

Customs services in Sub-Saharan Africa may be categorised into (a) those that are part of the mainstream civil service (b) those that have been given a measure of autonomy and (c) those that have been integrated with tax departments in revenue authorities. The current organisational design features and functions of Customs are related to the new public administration paradigm that started in the 1980s, which in the case of Customs and tax administration, led to the emergence of integrated semi-autonomous revenue agencies. On the basis of organisational autonomy in this new paradigm, a few customs services in Africa (such as Ethiopia and Ghana) have been granted autonomy from the mainstream civil service, while others have been merged with tax administrations in revenue authorities. In both cases, Customs is required to carry out its mandate, which goes beyond revenue collection, in an environment that emphasises the revenue function over any other function. In other countries, mainly in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa, Customs still operates as part of the mainstream civil service. The extent to which Customs keeps a proper balance between the competing interests will determine its ability to carry out its mandate in line with the demands of the 21st century.