One-third of Customs staff set to retire

About one-third of the Barbados Customs and Excise Department’s staff are expected to retire over the next two to three years as the agency continues its push towards redevelopment, retraining and greater use of technology.

Minister of Finance Ryan Straughn disclosed the expected turnover on Sunday as Customs marked its 121st anniversary with a church service at the Power in the Blood Assembly, Tudor Bridge, St Michael.

Minister of Finance Ryan Straughn (Photo credit: Lauryn Escamilla / Barbados TODAY)

He said continued investment in technology and training would be necessary as the department prepares for a changing workforce, while the Ministry of Finance would continue to support the redevelopment, re-engineering and retraining of Customs alongside other border agencies.

“It is important that we set the tone, Comptroller, with respect to what is expected internally such that anyone who engages with the public on your behalf understands the professionalism that is required to do their job the best way in the interest of all of us as Barbadians,” Straughn said.

He identified three key responsibilities, or “masters”, for Customs: border security, revenue collection and business facilitation.

“Customs has three. It may be subordinate, but three very important masters: border security, revenue collection, and business facilitation,” he said.

Straughn stressed that Customs must balance all three responsibilities while maintaining high standards in its interactions with the public.

“We need to do all three at the same time very, very, well.”

The audience at Power in the Blood Assembly (Photo credit: Lauryn Escamilla / Barbados TODAY)

He said officers must communicate clearly about their work and maintain standards that cannot be compromised.

“It is really incumbent upon all of us to do our jobs well every day, communicate what we have to do in the conduct of our work, and to let people know that there are standards – standards below which we shall not drop.”

Straughn said the work of Customs had also been critical to the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation programme.

“The Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation program would not have been possible without the work of the members of the Barbados Customs and Excise Department.”

He further urged officers to give their best every day in protecting Barbados from threats including illegal firearms, ammunition and drugs.

“For all of us, all of us must show up every day and give 100 per cent every time because whether it is one gun, one bullet coming into this country, it is a threat to all of us.”

Straughn also called for greater openness between Customs and the public, including a willingness to face scrutiny and criticism.

“We must open up ourselves, yes to scrutiny, yes to criticism, Comptroller, as they will be.”

He said such engagement would be necessary to strengthen public confidence in the department.

“And therefore, that engagement is going to be critical if we’re going to continue to win the trust of the people.”

Straughn also reminded officers of their motto, “Ever Vigilant”, saying Barbados was depending on them to perform consistently.

(Photo credit: Lauryn Escamilla / Barbados TODAY)

“Barbados is relying on all of us to make sure that we do our job well each and every day.”

Bishop Dr Eric Peters, who delivered the sermon under the theme Rise to Excellence, challenged Customs officers to reject complacency and position the department as a model for excellence.

Bishop Dr Eric Peters (Photo credit: Lauryn Escamilla / Barbados TODAY)

“Excellence is not a word to define, but it’s an ideal to be pursued,” he said. “It will do more to try to become excellent than to define the word.”

Peters said excellence was something people recognised through the quality of work being done and that it develops from an ideal into consistent behaviour that produces results.

“If you are an excellent person, you don’t need to say it. The results are going to show.”

He urged Customs officers to understand that their individual commitment to excellence should ultimately be reflected in how they serve the public.

“Excellence is individually appropriated, but it’s communally administered,” he said. “If as an individual you have an excellent spirit, that excellent spirit is not going to remain in you, but it’s going to show in how you serve people and how you demonstrate your duties as you do them… If you want to be excellent, you’ve got to be consistent with it. You’ve got to stick to it.”

Peters identified complacency as one of the major threats to excellence.

“Complacency is the enemy of excellence,” he said. “If you get to the place where you say, ‘Well, you know,’ then you’re complacent.”

According to Peters, an unwillingness to consider new possibilities can prevent individuals and institutions from progressing.

“You can’t accept second. An attitude that feels contented with what is and never considers what can be…. Let us never settle for what has happened in the past…. But God has given us an opportunity to grow and to build and to become excellent.”

Peters said Barbados should not measure its potential by what other countries in the region are doing.

“Who says Barbados can’t become a Singapore? Who says Barbados can’t be a world-renowned nation? Your size, no, how you think.”

He later challenged Customs officers to stop settling for conventional standards and instead establish their own.

“Don’t settle. You heard it already, don’t settle. You don’t settle because nobody else in the Caribbean is doing this. So why Customs Barbados has to be? You will have to be the first.”

He continued: “We can be the first. If every great inventor had looked for somebody that did it before, we’ll still be in this age. But somebody had to do it first. Somebody had to become the standard.”

“My encouragement to you today is to become the standard,” Peters added.

“When you have the spirit of excellence in you, you become the standard that drives everything else.”

The department’s stated vision is to become a world-class Customs Administration recognised for its administrative and operational efficiency. Its mission is to expedite and facilitate legitimate trade and travel while collecting and protecting government revenue and safeguarding the health, security and economic viability of Barbados.

Its core values are integrity, accountability, transparency and professionalism.

During the anniversary service, Acting Comptroller of Customs Lynette Padmore made a donation to Peters.

(LE)