NW Customs Dept. Urged to Check Smuggling.


The North West Customs Department has been urged to wage a strong fight against smuggling. The command was made by the Governor of the North West Region H.E Abakar Ahamat, January 26 at the Customs esplanade, SONAC Street during the International Custom’s day. Governor Abakar equally requested the Customs sector to check fraud, over assessment of goods, avoid loading and off loading in the bush footpaths and to ensure effective collection of revenue to enable the State realise the 2010 State budget for execution of projects.

The Governor also called on the customs sector to continue to fight against indiscipline and corruption within the ranks of the customs officers. Economic operators were challenged to give the customs service full and active collaboration to guarantee the success. Such collaboration will enable the Custom department to generate revenue for the projects already announced by the Head of State H.E President Paul Biya.

He however, congratulated the sector’s efforts towards realization of State Budget. The Governor announced that the state has assigned for the first quarter to the sector FCFA 58 millions as customs revenue in the North West. The North West Regional Chief of Customs, Mr. Tanjoh Jerry Naah, in his speech said his department is determined to reach and even beat the revenue estimate fixed for his sector this fiscal year. He enlisted some reasons why they could not have performed better the previous year. He equally feared that some of those reasons remain the main bottle-necks this year thus reducing their optimism.

The sector resolutely decided to move ahead by adopting a sort of road map which centered on exploiting all the avenues contained in the new finance law, intensifying the fight against smuggling and fraud, offering better service treatment to their service users in terms of assiduity at work, amongst others. He appealed to the administration to supply the necessary equipment to facilitate successful recovery in the sector.

BY GEORGE CHIFU