31.07.2020
After several teleworking sessions by the Groupe de Travail Interministeriel (GTI) for the deployment of the SIVL, the implementation of the national deployment plan of the functionalities relating to the account management and taxation of the SIVL took place from 13 to 23 July 2020 in the Republic of Congo.
In order to improve its forest governance and manage its forests sustainably, the Republic of Congo has signed a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) in timber and timber products. This Agreement entered into force on 1 March 2013. The legality assurance system for timber is the heart of this Agreement.
This makes it possible to determine the origin of timber products and the legality of timber production activities on Congolese territory.
In order to implement the Legality Verification System, the Ministry of Forest Economy has developed the software called Système informatique de vérification de la légalité (SIVL).
The strategy for the deployment of the SIVL is mainly based on a step-by-step national roll-out of the software’s functionalities.
The first training sessions, relating to the « account management » and « taxation » functionalities, took place in the Southern part at Pointe-Noire and Dolisie from 12th to 16th July 2020 and in the Northern part at Ouesso from 19th to 23rd July 2020.
Two groups of trainers (executives from the Ministry of Forest Economy and the Ministry of Finance and Budget) were formed to cover the entire national territory.
The learners, representatives of the Departmental Directorate of Water and Forestry (DDEF) and forest companies, generally responded to the General Inspectorate of Forest Economy Services (IGSEF) invitation.
The objective of these training sessions was training the referents in the use of the SIVL functionalities, for example: knowing how to log in, create and manage an account, and query the different taxes.
ATIBT Congo participated in the Ouesso session as an observer and contributed to the evaluation of the trainings and trainers by the Participants. Evaluation sheets were designed for this purpose and made it possible to collect opinions and recommendations to improve future training courses on the other functionalities of the System.
Overall, training took place under good conditions (and in compliance with the barrier measures related to the Covid pandemic19 ). The participants expressed their satisfaction, but regretted some disruptions during the trainings due to the instability of the internet network.
Learners received documents to enable them to continue their training and the technical team of the Forest Legality and Traceability Unit (CLFT) is available for a remote assistance.
The next trainings will focus on the « Legality » functionality of the SIVL.
