Employees of the Customs Department joined the congregation of the Mount of Praise Wesleyan Holiness Church for worship yesterday as they commemorated International Customs Day.
It is important that the entire government, not just the Customs Department, continues to engage in the various stakeholders.
Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ryan Straughn made this statement during his remarks at the Mount of Praise Wesleyan Holiness Church yesterday.
He added that the Customs Department must continue to engage the public with what is taking place and improve the level of internal communications.
“Every Customs officer is acutely aware as to what their responsibilities are with respect to serving the public, such is consistent with respect to the overall government’s mandate…, ” said Minister Straughn.
He noted that the Barbados economy is going through a transformation and added that the government believes in the support it has to give to the Customs Department in terms of training opportunities, as well as improve the service to the public. He explained that with the reality of where Barbados is right now, it is important to get out of the situation as soon as possible.
The Minister in the Ministry of Finance said that there are a number of reforms that have to be implemented quickly. He emphasised that there are the support and training of the staff, rebuilding the department and the engagement of the union on employee matters.
“We are working with our stakeholders, certainly in the private sector, those persons who are engage as logistics professionals to ensure that when any individual or business imports or wants to export from Barbados that process is as seamless as possible,” said Straughn.
He said as the custom department changes systems (which also includes dedicated training of staff internally and the public), it is critical to explain what those changes will mean for the ordinary citizen, the business community and the Customs department in respect of career development and better service to the public.
Sunday was recognised as International Customs Day which is held on January 26. It commemorates the day in 1953 when the inaugural session of the Customs Cooperation Council (CCC) was held in Brussels, Belgium.