Ho, March 13, GNA - The Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) is sharpening management practices within the Service to raise efficiency levels.

The process, which is contained in a Five-Year Strategic Plan being discussed at a series of workshops for management staff is also expected to change the corporate image of CEPS into a world-class organization. Mr Fredua Agyeman Boakye, Ho Sector Commander, opening one of such sensitisation workshops for 30 participants drawn from the Ho Collection on Tuesday said the seminars were to "create a sense of ownership of the plan among all officers."

"We believe that a strong and enduring commitment from both management and officers would provide a firm basis for attaining the strategic objectives set out in the plan," he stated. Mr Boakye said there was the need to identify lapses in the Service's operational strategies and devise appropriate measures to correct them.

"We need to think and act together to remedy the harmful effect of some of our operational inefficiencies on revenue performance and national security," he said.

Mr Boakye said "if there is a moment in the history of CEPS when new management techniques was required, it is now," conceding that the "tasks ahead are formidable and the challenges difficult". He said managers must be role models and in their "actions non-discriminatory and transparent".

Mr Boakye said the only way for a manager to be in full control was to sharpen his or her technical skills and provide inspirational and dynamic leadership and create the opportunity for teamwork, mutual respect and effective communication at all levels.

He called on the officers to reflect commitment, transparency and participatory decision-making, especially at the collection levels and also accept criticism.

Mr Boakye said the efficiency levels of CEPS might not be reflecting the calibre of its human resource, because many officers lacked training on the mission of the Service and perhaps that some decisions were often tinged with indiscreet considerations. Mr Alfred Zimbaakar, Principal Collector and a resource person expressed regret that in its 168 years of existence, this was the first attempt to chart a strategic course for the Service. He said management was crucial to any organization and linked the inability of most businesses to go beyond three years to the lack of insightful management.

Mr Zimbaakar said a good manager anywhere must reflect not only adequate levels of intellectual capacity but also emotional intelligence.

He said mavericks in organizations often regarded by managements, as deviants could sometimes be vital agents of change. Mr Zimbaakar observed that an effective, efficient and well-resourced public sector was needed to make the private sector the engine of growth in the country. 13 March 07