Customs department lauded for ongoing training and development

Financial Secretary

ST. KITTS, JANUARY 31, 2011 (Customs PRO) – Financial Secretary in the Federal Government, Mrs. Janet Harris praised the management of the Customs and Excise Department for its ongoing commitment to training and staff development.

While giving congratulatory remarks at the closing ceremony of the 2011 Customs Middle Management Training Course, the chief finance administrator said, “The Customs Department has shown that it is living up to its Vision Statement and the objectives of continual training and staff development.”

Harris made the observation that the Customs Department is the leading government entity with regard to staff development. “There is no other place in Government where so much training takes place,” she said while stressing the importance of converting the knowledge gained into excellence.

Harris further praised the efforts of Comptroller of Customs, Mr. Rodney Harris and Deputy Comptroller of Customs, Mr. Georid Belle, for the high level of importance they give to training each year.

Cross Section of Officers

Already in 2011, Mr. Kevin Rawlins, Customs Officer Grade Two, has returned from Jamaica after having completed training in Narcotics Investigation at the Caribbean Regional Drug Law Enforcement Training Centre and Ms. Janessa Huggins, Customs Officer Grade Two, is due to leave the Federation, for Jamaica, to undergo training in Intelligence Gathering and Analysis.

In February, Mr. Desroy Daniel, Customs Officer Grade Four, will attend an Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Training Workshop to be hosted by the Nevis Financial Services Regulation and Supervision Department and Mr. Jevon Gumbs, Assistant Comptroller with responsibility for Enforcement, will attend a Regional Training Workshop for National Coordinators of Drug Information Networks.

Assistant Comptroller with responsibility for Training, Mr. Theodore Brown has revealed that in addition to the recently concluded Middle Management Training Course, the Customs Training Division will execute two other in-house training courses in the first half of the year.

Brown said, “In April, we will host a Narcotics Database Training Workshop and in June we will also host a Customer Service Training Workshop.”