The large cadre of young and committed Customs Officers in Anguilla got a further boost of energy and excitement when they were given a stirring lecture by the Comptroller, Mr. Travis Carty, on World Customs Day.
In doing so, he thanked them for their unwavering dedication, support and hard work including the 76 million dollars they assisted their department to raise in Government revenue in 2017 – 6 million more than the projected figure.
“The Customs Department delivered to the Ministry of Finance/the Government of Anguilla 76 million dollars in revenue. Stand and give yourself a round of applause,” he told his smartly-uniformed fellow Customs Officers on Friday, January 26. “We are here to let the Honourable Chief Minister know that when the country appears to be down and out, he can call on Customs because, time and time again, we have delivered. But in order to do so, we need the requisite resources. All is not lost because we have a Permanent Secretary, Finance, Dr. Aidan Harrigan, who supports me wholeheartedly when I am good and, sometimes when I am bad; but, most importantly, he supports the department wholeheartedly. He believes in us.”
Mr. Carty continued: “2018 is going to be a good year for us. As we begun the year, I saw amongst you the motivation to do good and the drive for success…It shows that you are ready because to fail to prepare, is to prepare to fail. Determination and drive breed success and I am confident in your abilities.
“We are going to have a few changes this year. On December 22nd, 2017, we adopted our Risk Assessment Management Policy which came into force in January 2018. I cannot stress enough that it tells us that we can’t open every bag; we can’t examine every passenger; or every container. But Risk Management reminds us that we will be checking those who pose the highest risk and, through that, we are gearing up for success.
“We are going to see improvement at our terminals; our cargo-handling and in our canine unit – so we are preparing in 2018 to deliver on the mandate of the Anguilla Customs Department to protect society, facilitate legitimate trade, and improve the by-product of our business; collecting Government’s revenue. In order for us to get it right, each of us must have a state of mind that change is constant. This is a dynamic department. We sometimes have changes every week; twice a week and at other times changes every month. If we all know Customs, it is worse on Mondays – one of our most trying days. Once we make it through Monday, we are good on Friday afternoon.
“Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues: you have my full support. Be prepared to go on a journey and a drive for success. Do not allow mediocrity or persons to change your mind about your drive for success. You have to believe in yourself. The power of your thoughts and words matters. If you think you can, more than likely you can do it. If you think that you can’t do it, more than likely you are setting up yourself for failure.”
Mr. Carty further stated: “Along this journey, we are going to have rules. We have seen the implementation of our robust uniform policy. It means that you must not only wear the uniform, but wear it with pride. Male officers, your pants must be on your waist; and female officers, your skirts must be below your knees. These are the things that will make us a department second to none. We will see the implementation of a number of other policies. We have the Case File Management Policy Investigations. Last year, we have seen our success rate at the Courts winning all of our cases. It does not begin at the Courts, but in Blowing Point, Road Bay and the Post Office. The intricacy of the Case File Policy is that when it happens on the ground, you must grab it. That’s the only way we are going to walk through the doors of the Courts with a conviction and a success rate.
“This year we intend to improve our public relations to ensure that members of the public are aware of what is expected of them; and what is expected of customs brokers. We are no longer in the business of doing their work because we have our own. I heard a lot of customs brokers telling their customers ‘send it in: Customs will fix it’. But we are going to send it back out. We spend most of our time doing everybody’s work. A Customs Officer sometimes serves as a pharmacist; a mortician; an-officio police officer; a counsellor – and also works on behalf of a number of agencies and departments throughout the public service just to ensure that Anguilla functions right [but we have our own work to do].
The Comptroller of Customs advised his subordinates: “You have a responsibility first and foremost to the Anguilla Customs Department to execute your duties in a fair and equitable manner. If you know your Comptroller: if you are right, he will go leaps and bounds for you, but when you are wrong you will deal with the consequences of your actions. There is no love lost. It is something that prepares you to be better persons and we call it accountability. So when you are held accountable for your actions, it makes you distinguished officers. Know your legislation also and keep up the good work.”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr. Victor Banks, said in part: “Last year was a very challenging year for all of us but the Customs Department was especially challenged. One of the issues that affect us from time to time is the knowledge that is required whereby the community allows us to carry out our functions in an atmosphere of understanding.
“You are my Customs Officers because I hold the Customs Department dear to my heart as Minister of Finance, but especially so as a member of Government. That is because the large portion of the services that we seek to provide to our people comes as a result of the efforts of the Customs Department. I want all of you to give yourselves a round of applause for the great job you did in 2017, despite the challenges that attended all of us.”
Noting that the Customs Department had a challenging experience, over the past four months, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, in dealing with the public during the importation of various relief supplies, the Chief Minister stated: “Customs Officers sometimes have a tough task and a difficult day. Therefore, being human, you may slip but, at the end of the day, we must forgive you because the job you have is challenging. I am here to defend you. I think you are doing an excellent job and I want you to continue to do so.”
