SHIRLEYMEMBERS OF the Jamaica Customs Department will be attending special church services in St. Andrew and Montego Bay today to kick off a week of activities as part of International Customs Day.
The service in St. Andrew will be held at Fellowship Tabernacle, Half-Way Tree Road, starting at 11:00 a.m., while the Montego Bay service will be convened at the Burchell Baptist Church, Market Street, starting at 10:00 a.m.
Each year since 1983, January 26 is celebrated as International Customs Day. On that day, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) invites its members to highlight the vital role played by customs officials in all countries, especially in the context of the globalisation of trade.
International Customs Day also provides the WCO with an opportunity to focus on the important work being carried out by the organisation in terms of facilitating trade, protecting the trade environment and combating Customs offences. To date, there are 161 members of the WCO, to which the Jamaica Customs Department is a signatory.
The week's activities, to be held under the theme "The role played by Customs in trade security and facilitation", will feature a seminar on Wednesday at the Jam-aica Confer-ence Centre in downtown Kingston, at which Sen-ator Deika Morrison, State Min-ister for Finance will give the opening address. The main presenter at that seminar will be Professor Gordon Shirley, executive director of the Mona School of Business, while Allison Moore, the Commissioner of Customs, as well as other Customs officials will be part of a resource panel. The seminar will held between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
On Friday, the Customs Department will hold its customer appreciation day at all ports of entry, warehouses, Customs houses and parcel posts. On the following day, Saturday, February 1, there will be an information fair at Jamaica Customs head office, Newport East in Kingston. It will be held between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and will be officially opened by Fitz Jackson, State Minister for Finance. The fair will be held in colloboration with other public and private sector organisations.
The Customs Department said the fair is intended to sensitise the public to the functions of the agency as well as to promote mutual understanding and improve relationship with other clients in a relaxed and festive atmosphere. It will showcase stakeholders such as the Customs Brokers Association of Jamaica (CBAJ), which will be setting up booths, as well as an entertainment package featuring Fab 5, Lovindeer, and attractions for the children.
