Tamale, March 20, GNA - Management of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Services (CEPS) would soon launch an initiative that would require its regional and district offices to formulate their own vision and measures on how to achieve set revenue targets. Mr. Henry Acquah, Deputy Commissioner-in charge of Finance and Corporate Planning, said this at a two-day "Strategic review workshop" organized in Tamale on Thursday for personnel drawn from the northern sector. The workshop, which is aimed at charting a new course for CEPS for the next five years, seeks to improve on the efficiency of the service and strengthen its relationship with stakeholders. Mr Acquah said revenue collection points that would produce the best vision would be supported with implementation measures and would also be recognized and appropriately rewarded.

Mr. Acquah said the global financial crisis required that a strategic national institution such as CEPS should be innovative and forward-looking and that the work performance of the Service was directly linked to events on the global market place. "We cannot afford to be oblivious of the fact that the global economic and financial landscape is becoming increasingly integrated, complex and high-tech. Businesses are changing and responding to the demands of customers in ways we never imagined a few years ago," he said. The Deputy Commissioner said trade had become a core function in relationship between nations and as such CEPS needed to design pragmatic programmes that would put Ghana on the competitive edge. "We need to realign our operational procedures and systems if we truly want to provide world-class service."