Customs celebrates a year of connectivity

'Borders Divide, Customs Connect' was the theme being celebrated by Jamaica Customs for Customs Week, January 22-26. In recognition of International Customs Day (January 26), the World Customs Organisation (WCO), in celebrating its 60th anniversary, saw it fit to acknowledge the value of interconnectivity among customs and its partners.

The Jamaica Customs Department personified the WCO's vision by initiating consultation with their many clients at two stakeholders' symposiums in Kingston and Montego Bay.

On Tuesday, January 24, approximately 60 stakeholders shared in discussions with the management and staff of the Customs Department at the Jamaica Conference Centre. Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Public Service, Horace Dalley, commended the department on hosting an event which focused on the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders working together for national development. He emphasised that a level playing field throughout all customs processes will be the focus of the ministry, while aiding with the modernisation programmes over the next year and thereafter.

Devon Rowe, commissioner of customs, emphasised the importance of "strengthening the link that now exists with the major public- and private-sector stakeholders through the department's monthly quality-assurance meeting", and gave an overview of the many modernisation projects that will be undertaken over the next few months, championed by the enhanced use of information communication technology (ICT). He also mentioned the single-window concept which the department is now looking at, that will interface with the existing customs system, the port community and other government agencies.

In Montego Bay ,over 40 stakeholders who converged on the Convention Centre on January 25 enjoyed discussions which emphasised the importance of ICT development and underscored the importance of customer service as the department is among the first set of faces that the many tourists that pass through the resort city see upon entry to the country. Among the highlights of ICT development for Montego Bay is the introduction of the electronic manifest process, which is already online, thus making the process simpler and more efficient.

Both events ended with select members of the Customs Department being awarded certificates of merit from the WCO for the excellent work they have been doing in facilitating trade, managing the country's borders and collecting much-needed revenue for economic development.