Fresh leadership for Brazzaville customs
Standing before uniformed officers beneath the tricolour flag, Alexis Bienvenu Oyombi accepted the helm of Brazzaville’s Directorate of Customs and Indirect Taxes on 6 November, promising to turn the post-pandemic recovery into concrete revenue for the national budget.
- Fresh leadership for Brazzaville customs
- Government sets clear fiscal targets
- Cleaning up bad practises
- Revenue at the heart of development
- A career shaped inside the service
- Ceremony symbols and commitments
- Digital customs high on agenda
- Business community reacts
- Travellers, what to expect
- Metrics to watch
- Next steps for the new director
- Community outreach in schools
The inspector, appointed by a prime-ministerial decree on 31 October 2025, stressed that his mission is results-based: “We will boost the tax base so that the targets set by government become a daily reality for citizens,” he declared.
Government sets clear fiscal targets
Customs and VAT bring more than half of Congo’s public income, according to the Ministry of Finance, making each seized container and every properly valued declaration crucial for hospitals, schools and road projects.
During the handover, Human Resources Director Jean-Marie Montsagna recalled Minister Christian Yoka’s recent warning in Pointe-Noire about down-rated invoices and fraud, urging the new team in Brazzaville to be “simply uncompromising” in closing loopholes.
Cleaning up bad practises
Oyombi inherits a department where some operators still seek shortcuts: undervaluation of goods, false transit regimes, or late-night cash payments that never reach the treasury.
He plans to intensify joint patrols with police at Maya-Maya airport and the port of Yoro, and to rotate desk officers more often, a measure observers say reduces familiarity between agents and clearing companies.
Revenue at the heart of development
Congo’s 2026 draft budget counts on 1 170 billion CFA francs in customs receipts, a target analysts at local think-tank CERAPE call “ambitious but reachable” if trade volumes keep rising alongside global oil prices.
Economist Nadia Ngatsé notes that effective border management can add one additional point to GDP growth, citing Rwanda’s experience where end-to-end electronic clearance significantly raised collections by 30 % within two fiscal years (Jeune Afrique, August 2024).
A career shaped inside the service
A graduate of the National School of Administration and Magistracy, Oyombi started 22 years ago as a frontline checker in Ouesso before leading tariff studies, risk analysis and, recently, the harmonised system unit.
Colleagues describe him as analytical and calm, qualities he displayed in 2020-2021 while coordinating scanners during the height of Covid-19 restrictions, a period that still allowed Brazzaville customs to exceed monthly forecasts.
Speaking to reporters, the director smiled as he recalled his late mother’s advice: “Service is worth more than salary.” He said that mantra will guide his door-open policy, promising monthly briefings where junior officers can air concerns.
Ceremony symbols and commitments
At the headquarters on Avenue de la Paix, drums from a local troupe accompanied the signing of the handover register, followed by a brief prayer for integrity and a collective salute, gestures meant to underline the morally loaded task ahead.
Digital customs high on agenda
The director signalled that his first memo will concern rolling out e-payment for duties over one million francs, a reform already tested in Pointe-Noire that cut queue times from four hours to 40 minutes.
Customs IT head Armand Mabiala confirmed servers are ready and training videos will be circulated on WhatsApp groups used by brokers, a method that proved efficient during the ASYCUDA World update in 2023.
The team also plans a pilot with QR-coded seals on fuel tankers, letting enforcement units track routes in real time, a move endorsed by the Union des Transporteurs as a deterrent to clandestine unloading.
Business community reacts
The Brazzaville Chamber of Commerce welcomed Oyombi’s appointment, stressing in a note that predictable clearance times could lower logistics costs by up to 12 %, a saving that wholesalers say would be partly passed on to consumers.
Logistics operator Bolloré Africa Logistics, while supportive, hopes customs will maintain dialogue on weekend shifts, noting that Saturday releases shave crucial days off fresh-fruit deliveries bound for regional markets.
Travellers, what to expect
Airport passengers should not fear sudden fee hikes, officials assure; rather, the emphasis will be on scanning accuracy and transparent receipts, with a public hotline to report over-charging to launch before Christmas.
Metrics to watch
Monthly dashboards showing assessed versus collected duties will be published on the customs website, a transparency pledge saluted by civil-society group Cercle de Veille Budgétaire, which nonetheless urges timely updates to sustain credibility.
Analysts will watch seizure statistics as well, since a spike without proportional prosecutions could indicate street-level confiscations rather than dismantling organised rings, warns researcher Grégoire Oba.
Next steps for the new director
Oyombi promised to spend his first week touring the Makabandilou corridor and the Impfondo river post, listening to agents on shift and gathering data before drafting a 90-day action plan that he intends to present to the minister in January.
If targets are met, Oyombi predicts customs could hire 150 additional agents in 2027, creating career paths for youth in IT, canine units and forensic auditing—“jobs that keep talent at home instead of abroad,” he said.
Community outreach in schools
Plans are underway for customs officers to visit schools in February, teaching students the link between legitimate trade, cheaper goods and national sovereignty.
