Douala, Kribi ports: Customs deploys expert mission to tighten CEMAC transit, cut delays.

The initiative was confirmed on April 20, during a meeting between Director General of Customs Fongod Edwin Nuvaga and Bernard Zbinden, Resident Adviser in customs administration at AFRITAC Centre.

According to information published by Customs, the mission aims to assess and reinforce transit management for goods moving to and from Chad and the Central African Republic, while securing suspended customs duties and improving efficiency. 

It also aims to prepare the ground for the implementation of SIGMAT, the Interconnected System for the Management of Goods in Transit, across the CEMAC zone.

It emerged from the meeting that the work is being carried out in line with regional obligations under the 2019 CEMAC Customs Code and the harmonised CEMAC-CEEAC Customs Code, which came into force on 18 October 2024. 

The three countries are also advancing commitments under the African Continental Free Trade Area to facilitate and harmonise trade flows.

According to Customs, Central African customs authorities agreed on the principle of interconnecting their IT systems and exchanging data to secure and simplify transit procedures in 2024. 

The approach is expected to be implemented through SIGMAT, which is designed to enable tracking of goods and coordination between customs administrations.

Customs revealed that pending a formal agreement between CEMAC and ECOWAS, Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic have already linked their systems and introduced joint transit procedures. Chadian and Central African customs units have also been deployed at the ports of Douala and Kribi to oversee transit operations.

Zbinden said these interim arrangements have improved monitoring but still fall short of the regional SIGMAT standard.

“The generalisation of SIGMAT in Central Africa requires stronger leadership from the CEMAC Commission, particularly regarding access to the system developed with the support of technical and financial partners,” he said.

“While awaiting a formal agreement, the current interconnections improve monitoring but do not yet correspond to the standardised SIGMAT framework envisaged at regional level,” he added.

According to Customs, the mission will include a review of existing practices within Cameroon’s customs administration, as well as those of Chadian and Central African units operating at both ports. 

It will also assess challenges identified during previous AFRITAC Centre support missions and organise technical discussions between the three administrations.

Experts will examine how to optimise interoperability between Cameroon’s CAMCIS system and the SYDONIA World platform used by Chad and the Central African Republic. 

Recommendations are expected to focus on aligning procedures with regional legal frameworks and strengthening coordination in transit operations. 

The mission is scheduled to conclude on April 30, 2026, with expected outcomes including improved understanding of SIGMAT, documented challenges in current transit systems and validated measures for implementation by customs authorities.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3768 of Wednesday April 22, 2026