23.02.2018
The government of Congo continues to advance on its roadmap for the implementation of the VPA / FLEGT, and in particular to achieve the objective of having a functional Information Security Audit System (SIVL).
This SIVL will be fed with production data of forest companies, but also data of authorizations and controls of the administration. On the basis of procedures for dealing with cases of non-compliance, the SIVL will issue or not FLEGT authorizations.
SIVL is therefore the key system for future Congolese timber exports.
The SIVL has been installed within the Ministry of Finance, and should be online soon. This means that in the course of 2018, the future data entry operators, the administration and the private sector, will be trained for its use and will be able to start using the software.
ATIBT has been commissioned by the Ministry of Forest Economy and Sustainable Development (MEFDD) to analyze the SIVL and make recommendations for its use by forestry companies. To carry out this mission, we analyzed the manuals and training materials and interviewed stakeholders in the system, both the administration and the private sector.
Much remains to be done, for example at the computer level to avoid typing errors, and to test the module « transformation ». On the field side, it will be important to take into account the heavy investments that companies will have to make to train their staff, buy computer equipment and ensure good internet connections. In addition, there are significant differences between companies: a number of companies will require significant technical support to perform systematic inventories and digital production data capture.
These findings lead to the conclusion that it is important to start the testing period, which will help to improve the system. We will remain available to the Congolese administration to support a deployment of the SIVL that is adapted to the realities on the ground.
