Samoa celebrates Customs Day
Samoa joined the rest of the world yesterday to commemorate International Customs Day.
The local celebration at Matautu was organised by the Ministry of Revenue.
This year’s theme set by W.C.O is “Data Analysis- Data Analysis for Effective Border Management.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Revenue, Matafeo Avalisa V. Fautuaalii, opened the ceremony and explained the five sub themes set by the Ministry that correlates to W.C.O’s overarching theme.
Those themes are:
i. Improve rise management which supports enhanced detection of irregularities, illicit consignments, the suspicious movement of people and financial flows, and the facilitations of legitimate trade.
ii. Learn from the historical activity to predict trader or passengers’ behavior;
iii. Engage with other government agencies to leverage their experience and expertise;
iv. Conduct quantitative research for purposed of building knowledge;
v. Enhance performance measurement to improve officer practices and integrity.
Stakeholders were invited to attend the festivities and take part in the special programme set up by the Ministry.
Every year, the Ministry holds an annual Open Day competition for all staff members to build leadership and enhance staff engagement.
All staff members were divided into five teams and each designated a sub theme to further explain in a comprehensible yet creative way.
The staff came up with quite ingenious presentations stretching from informative power points to wonderfully directed skits.
The staff truly put their most creative foot forward as the room was decorated with illustrative poster boards, balloons and pictures to give a clearer picture to the audience about what they are trying to accomplish this year.
Stakeholders were also encouraged to provide feedback on the Ministry’s presentations and to partake in the celebrations of this year's International Customs Day.