A national training workshop on the use of alert platforms for obstacles to free movement and the right to establish and dematerialize the procedure for granting origin began this Monday, September 25, 2023 in Lomé. This five (5) day meeting is initiated by the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) with the support of the Support Program for Institutional Capacity Building of the UEMOA Commission (PARCI) and brings together around thirty experts.
This specifically involves training participants in the use of the platforms; transfer skills to them to support potential users; address, as far as possible, the concerns specific to each Member State; hand over and install the IT equipment acquired as part of the project.
Indeed, one of the fundamental pillars of WAEMU is the free movement of goods, services, people and capital. However, despite the considerable efforts made, there are still obstacles to this freedom of movement. These obstacles can take different forms, such as excessive customs barriers, administrative delays, unnecessary border and corridor controls, regulatory obstacles and many others.
“In view of all these obstacles, the UEMOA Commission has put in place a certain number of mechanisms through the creation of two platforms. The first concerns the dematerialization of all procedures for granting origin and the second concerns obstacles to free movement,” explained Mwiniabaonè Yves Thierry, responsible for community visas at the regional market and cooperation department at the commission. of UEMOA.
The latter also underlined that the platform for dematerialization of the procedure for granting origin aims to simplify and accelerate the process for granting community origin, by allowing economic operators to submit their requests and provide the necessary documents electronically.
Regarding the alert platform for obstacles to free movement and the right of establishment, Mwiniabaonè Yves Thierry indicates that the alert mechanism aims to quickly identify problems and facilitate their resolution as quickly as possible. It is based on cooperation between member states, WAEMU bodies and private sector actors.
“This platform will make it possible to contact professional orders and, as a last resort, the UEMOA Commission in the event of an obstacle. Also in this context, students can submit their concerns regarding equal treatment because there is a directive in this sense”, he clarified before adding that “the alert mechanism works as follows: if an obstacle to free movement is detected, whether by a citizen, a company or a competent authority, it is reported to the relevant national authorities and to the UEMOA Commission. The Commission and the States concerned then investigate the reported obstacle and work together to find a rapid and effective solution.”
For her part, the resident representative of the UEMOA Commission in Togo, Aminata Lo Paye, urged all stakeholders, whether governmental or not, to actively participate in this alert mechanism.
“Citizens and businesses are encouraged to report any obstacles to free movement that they encounter. Furthermore, member states must fully cooperate with the UEMOA Commission to resolve these issues within the stipulated time frame,” she said.
Aminata Lo Paye believes that through the operationalization of the alert mechanism, they can improve free movement within the union and further stimulate trade, investment and economic development.
Speaking about the dematerialization of the procedure for granting community origin, she stressed that it presents several advantages. “It reduces processing times, facilitates file management and allows economic operators to save time by avoiding physical travel. In addition, it contributes to the transparency and traceability of requests. Beyond the procedure for granting origin, it should allow the Commission to directly notify recognition decisions to member states,” affirmed the resident representative of the UEMOA Commission in Togo.
Computer equipment will be made available to the structures concerned during this meeting.
Rachel Doubidji