Acting Controller of Customs Glenn Gomez continues his "mission" to cleanse the Customs Department of those officers who apparently consider corruption to be included in their job description.
Gomez served notice that he intended to deal harshly with these corrupt officers in a series of startling articles published in The Nassau Guardian two weeks ago when he revealed that at least 50 of the department's 450 officers were under investigation for some sort of suspected fraud and that "until there is punishment, it is not going to change."
Last Friday, specific action was taken in support of Gomez' insistence that those officers who are found to have been engaged in corrupt practices should be punished. In a press statement, the Ministry of Finance announced that 16 officers were being interdicted pending determination of misconduct charges being brought against them.
In the process of wielding his sledgehammer on the corrupt practices in Customs, however, Gomez has instituted some new procedures in Grand Bahama that need to be revisited by the Government. The unfairness of the new regulations were highlighted at a press conference held last Wednesday by the newly formed Grand Bahama Couriers Association to voice their concerns about the new policies that were put in place by Customs on July 20.
At least one courier company that has been in business in Grand Bahama for the past 12 years, GB Express, has indicated that the new procedures have made the cost of doing business too expensive for it to continue in business, and it will be shutting its doors as of August 15 if a resolution cannot be reached by the Government.
Specifically, the courier companies say that under the old system they were able to import parcels for customers, clear them and pay customs at airfreight. Under the new procedures, however, the customs unaccompanied baggage form (C-18) that facilitated this has been replaced by another form, which requires the customer to obtain a broker, whose services could range from $80 to $100.
The absurdity of this astronomical cost being added to the importation of an item by a courier service was underscored by an example used at the press conference by Edward Barrette of Sapona Imports. According to Barrette, a book that normally landed and was cleared through Customs at $30.49 would now cost the customer $120.49.
"We are outraged by this as many of our customers cannot afford to pay this additional cost that's been thrust on them," Barrette said as last Wednesday's press conference. "It is difficult to explain to a mother who wants to educate her child that the book that she once could have afforded to bring in, she can no longer afford to bring into the country."
Obviously, when Gomez and his "advisors" sat around the table to devise a plan to close the loopholes that facilitated the corrupt practices of dishonest customs officers, they did not take under consideration a circumstance such as this.
Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing, who represents the Marco City constituency of Grand Bahama, is well aware of the fact that there are a whole lot of "ordinary" Grand Bahamians who use these courier services to bring in items at considerable savings if they had to go abroad to purchase them themselves.
Grand Bahama is hurting bad economically and has been since the devastating hurricanes of 2004 forced the closure of the Royal Oasis Resort, and the Government should be more concerned about easing the financial burden of residents of the island, rather than adding to it.
These new Customs procedures should be reversed immediately.
