"Regard constraints as challenges" - CEPS Boss

Paga (Upper East) - Brigadier Richardson Baiden, Commissioner of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) at the weekend urged personnel of the Service not to be slowed down by the constraints they face presently, but to view them as challenges and resolve to surmount them.

He said he was not unaware of the difficult conditions under which CEPS personnel in the Northern sector of the country worked, but added that they should remain undaunted nevertheless, and "ensure that every pessewa that is due Government is collected and accounted for, with or without logistics."

He said it was only when they had proven their dedication and diligence that he, as Commissioner, would have the justification and confidence to take their case before Government for redress.

Brigadier Baiden was addressing men and women of the Service at separate meetings at Paga, Zuarungu and Namoo during a three-day working visit to the Upper East Region to acquaint himself with the area and to interact with CEPS personnel there.

He had earlier held similar meetings with Customs staff at Zebilla, Mognori, Missiga, Kulungugu and Pulimakom in the Bawku East District, where Ghana shares common boundaries with neighbouring Togo and Burkina Faso.

The CEPS boss told the personnel that his administration would have no mercy for corrupt officials and that whosoever amongst them joined the Service with the intention of amassing wealth should either change their orientation or quit before they got into trouble with the law. "Government revenue belongs to Government, it is not your pocket money", he emphasised.

Brigadier Baiden observed that the image of CEPS had sunk so low that the name of the Service had become synonymous with financial malfeasance. He reiterated his determination to put a stop to the negative trend and to give the Service a new public image.

In this regard, he has initiated Change Management Courses at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) for 215 senior CEPS officials from all over the country, so they could return to their respective posts and impart the new orientation of the Service to their subordinates.

He commended the various CEPS stations in the region for exceeding their revenue targets but urged them not to be complacent, as Government depended on income gerated for the implementation of its developmental agenda.

The Commissioner indicated, however, that although revenue mobilisation was their primary objective, CEPS personnel should not disregard the security and diplomatic dimensions of their duties. He particularly cautioned them against the harassment of foreign nationals at the various entry/exit points, saying that the success of Ghana's Gateway Project as well as the laudable objectives of ECOWAS would depend on their conduct.

Concerns raised by personnel at all the stations visited included inadequate office and residential accommodation, lack of means of transport and the need for Motorola communication handsets for staff, especially those on patrol duties.

At the Namoo border post on the Ghana-Burkina Faso border, Brigadier Baiden inspected a newly-drilled borehole and commissioned a 12-unit residential facility constructed by personnel at the post, with support from their colleagues from the Immigration Service, the Bongo District Assembly and the local cattle dealers association at a total cost of ?44.3m.

He commended the Senior Collector in-charge of the station, Mr Patrice Afotey-Annang, for initiating the project and urged CEPS personnel in other parts of the country to emulate the self-help spirit of their colleagues at Namoo.

In the course of the tour, Brigadier Baiden also interacted with Immigration staff and other border officials at the various checkpoints. He urged them to eschew petty rivalry and to work in harmony with CEPS personnel for the advancement of the overall national interest.

Accompanying the Commissioner was Ernest A. Sasuh, Upper East Regional CEPS Commander, and Robert Mensah, National Public Relations Officer of the Service.