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CCLEC’s Support to Regional Customs Departments Regarding the Coronavirus Threat
The Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) continues to monitor regional and International Organization’s status reports, national policy statements and preparations to manage the Coronavirus outbreak already plaguing several countries worldwide.
Customs, Immigration, Health and Quarantine officers, Ports Authority workers, passengers, crew and all persons interacting at Ports have legitimate reasons to be concerned about their health and safety in view of the Coronavirus threat to the Caribbean Community.
Permanent Secretary of the CCLEC, Albert Sandy, in an advisory to Heads of Customs and Excise Departments on Monday, March 2nd expressed confidence in the ability of the SailClear/RCS2019 vessel processing System to assist Customs, Immigration and Port Health officers in managing the coronavirus threat to Caribbean states. The SailClear/RCS 2019 System which is already in use by Caribbean Customs administrations, from Bermuda to the ABC Islands, is a live, online administrative tool that receives, prearrival notifications from pleasure yachts and other small vessels arriving from any port in the world, intending to visit any Caribbean Port(s). That information received in advance by Customs is used to assess the vessels, crew and luggage before arrival or departure, enabling Customs, immigration or other authorities (using the Customs and health declaration) to determine how to treat the vessels and their occupants. It also serves as a facilitation tool to expedite the vessel clearance process, without the need of masters and crew presenting handwritten declarations to Customs and Immigration authorities.
Visit of WCO Secretary General to St Lucia
The Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, visited St. Lucia from the 12th to 14th February 2020. During his stay the Secretary General made official visits to the Acting Comptroller of Customs and Excise, Mrs. Anita Montoute and her staff, the Government of St. Lucia and the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council.
The welcome meeting, hosted by the Customs Comptroller and Ministry of Finance, was attended by the Comptroller of Customs, Minister of Commerce and Trade, Hon. Bradley Felix, Deputy PS Finance, Acting Commissioner of Police Milton Desir, Permanent Secretary of CCLEC, Mr. Albert Sandy, administrators and staff of the Inland Revenue Department, Customs and Excise Administrators and staff and other invited guests.
Acting Comptroller of Customs Montoute welcomed Dr. Mikuryia, expressing her thanks for his consideration of St. Lucia for such an important visit. She mentioned various conventions signed, which are being actively enforced by St Lucia, such as the Montreal Protocol on ODS substances, the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and the WCO Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC). She mentioned that the St. Lucia Customs and Excise Department continues to collaborate with the WCO and CCLEC to build the capacity of its staff to increase their abilities to facilitate trade through risk management principles and practices while ensuring the control of restricted and prohibited goods and contraband.
The Permanent Secretary of CCLEC welcomed the Secretary General and expressed his thanks to the WCO for the collaboration in Capacity Building, Trade Facilitation among other areas. He stated that CCLEC and the WCO have an established MOU between them which will shortly be reviewed and practically deepened. CCLEC’s Joint Intelligence Office is also the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO) for the WCO.
On the 14th SG Mikuriya visited the CCLEC Secretariat where discussion was held on deepening collaboration between CCLEC and the WCO including the synchronization of their strategies in order to better meet member’s needs. In May 2020 CCLEC, the WCO and CARICOM will jointly stage an STCE training course in the Eastern Caribbean to benefit member administrations.
The Passing of the Former Comptroller of St Kitts & Nevis Customs, Mr Donald Cable
On behalf of the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council, I would like to convey sincere condolences to the dear wife, family, friends and Customs fraternity of St. Kitts, Nevis and beyond, on the passing from this life of Mr. Donald Cable, retired Comptroller, of St. Kitts, Nevis Customs and Excise.
Mr. Cable signed the CCLEC MOU in 1994 and during his tenure as Comptroller, his support for the organization remained unflinching and resolute. The entire CCLEC membership benefited tremendously from his vision, practical engagement and personality at our meetings.
He was fully committed to CCLEC’s initiatives, including the successful implementation of the Junior Officer Basic Course in the region, the Regional Airports Anti-Smuggling Initiative in 2000 and in 2001. He welcomed the CCLEC Consultants to implement the Enforcement / Roving Team concept in St. Kitts Customs. This concept continues to be employed with success over the years, a testimony to his vision. His various job portfolios, respect and support from the press and Governments, are testimony to the quality of person he was. A sterling example was he for civil servants to follow.
Please accept our heartfelt sympathy. May he rest in Peace.
Albert V. Sandy
Permanent Secretary
Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council
Cuba Ratifies CCO Treaty
On November 1st 2019, the Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to St. Lucia, His excellency Alejandro Marin, deposited Cuba’s Instrument of Ratification of the Caribbean Customs Organisation (CCO) Treaty at the CCLEC Secretariat. The CCO Treaty was signed by fourteen countries on May 22nd, 2019 in Havana and will enter into force three months after the date of the deposit of the instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval in accordance with Articles 5 and 60 of the Agreement.
In presenting the instrument, His Excellency Ambassador Marin, thanked the PS, Executive Committee and Council for the efforts to move from an MOU to a Treaty Organization. He noted that Cuba has been a very willing and cooperative partner of the CCLEC from inception.
He said Cuba was very proud to sign the treaty in Havana on 22nd May 2019 and now the first country to deposit its Instrument of ratification to the PS CCLEC. He reaffirms Cuba’s commitment to the organization and all its members and said that Cuba will continue its work and initiatives according to the Motto of the CCLEC 41st Conference “Strength through Unity.”
BAHAMAS DEVASTATED BY HURRICANE DORIAN
The Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) extends its heartfelt condolences to the Government and the people of the Bahamas for the tragic loss of lives and widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian on Sunday 1st September 2019.
The devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian is still unfolding but images and news from the Bahamas tell a very painful story, one which is becoming too familiar to our region.
Our thoughts and prayers are with our Customs colleagues and the people of Bahamas as they seek to rebuild their homes and lives.
Albert Sandy
PS CCLEC
RCS Train-the-Trainer Seminar held in St Lucia
The new Regional Clearance System, RCS2019, will be deployed at the end of August and to support this initiative, the CCLEC convened a train-the-trainer seminar for regional Customs officers in St Lucia from July 29-31, 2019.
The seminar which was jointly sponsored by UKBF/ODA and CCLEC aimed at building local capacity to deliver RCS training. Eighteen officers from the English and Spanish speaking Caribbean were in attendance. In his opening remarks, the CCLEC Permanent Secretary, Mr Albert Sandy, reminded the participants that the system was commissioned by CCLEC members in 2000 because it was recognized then that there was a need to collect data on pleasure vessels plying the region for security purposes. The system however has evolved over the years and now also functions as an administrative tool for facilitating pleasure vessels, crew and passengers visiting the region.
CCLEC SIGNS TREATY TO ESTABLISH THE CARIBBEAN CUSTOMS ORGANISATION (CCO)
The CCLEC 41st Conference was held in Havana, Cuba on May 22-24, 2019 under the theme
‘The Pathway to Success: Strength through Unity’. This event was marked by the historical signing of the treaty which will establish the Caribbean Customs Organization (CCO).
The signing ceremony was attended by high level government officials including, on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mr Menno Snel, Minister for Finance of Taxation and Customs of the Netherlands, Mrs Xiomara Ruiz-Maduro, Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs and Culture of Aruba, Mr Kenneth Gijsbertha, Minister of Finance of Curacao, and Mr Cornelius de Weever, Minister of Justice of Sint Maarten, who all signed for their respective countries. Ambassador to Cuba, Mr Andrew Brent, signed on behalf of the Bahamas, and Mr Antony Stokes, UK’s Ambassador to Cuba, signed on behalf of Anguilla, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Representatives from Customs, Mr Raju Boddu, Comptroller of Customs for Antigua, Mr Nelson E. Cordovés Reyes, Head of Customs for Cuba, Mr Cesar Zorrilla, Manager of the Technical Deliberative Department of the General Customs Directorate for the Dominican Republic, and Mr Fritz Alcindor, Deputy Director General of Haiti signed on behalf of their respective governments.
After three decades of operating under an MOU, members of the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) agreed that it was of paramount importance, given the opportunities and challenges presented by technological advancements, to formalize the legal basis for sharing information. The MOU to establish the CCLEC was signed in 1989, an MOU which, although not legally binding, served the organization in meeting its objectives to improve the overall professionalism of its members through cooperation, sharing of best practices, human resource development, modernization, automation, harmonization of processes and procedures and information/intelligence sharing. However, global security challenges, the need for automatic sharing of information and the advent of several new trade arrangements means that the CCLEC’s role will become more complex. To this end, the need for a more robust legally binding mechanism to improve information and intelligence exchange was necessary.
Miss Camille Garrick, St Vincent Officer
On behalf of the CCLEC Secretariat and Executive Committee I convey our deepest condolences to the family, friends and Customs colleagues of Miss Camille Garrick of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Customs and Excise Department, on her recent decease at such a tender age. The loss of such a dear friend and co worker leaves us often speechless and sad. Comptroller of Customs, Mr. DaSilva praises her as “ an athletic, adventurous, kind individual and a valued member of the Customs and Excise Department since February 11, 2002”, who will be missed dearly. May we all aim for such a legacy among our peers. Life being so transient, let us all take stock of our short time here to make the best of it at work and home. She will be missed, but we can all keep her memory at heart. May you all be supportive of each other and her family at this time.
The funeral and interment of Ms. Garrick was held at the Kingstown Methodist Church on 4th December 2019.
May she rest in peace.
With our warmest sympathy and consideration.
Albert Sandy
Permanent Secretary
Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council
CCO Logo Contest
RULES:
- Only current employees of Customs administrations that are members of CCLEC are eligible to compete
- Competition is open to all age groups
- Proof of employment is required with submission (a copy of Staff ID will suffice)
- Submissions received after midnight (Atlantic Standard Time) on 12th April 2019 will not be considered
GUIDELINES
- Design must be original creation in digital format
- Colour: the predominant color should be dark blue with optional white accent. Addition of one complimentary color can be chosen based in your creative design
- The words “Caribbean Customs Organisation” must be included in the design
- The objectives and character of the Caribbean Customs Organisation should be considered (https://www.cclec.org/cco-treaty-document/)
- Font design should not be scripted.
3/8/2019
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