Asembri Warns CEPS Staff Against Corruption

Sunyani, (Brong Ahafo) 7 Nov. Dr. Charles Asembri, Commissioner for Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), has asked personnel of the service to live within their means to enable them to resist the temptation to use their position dubiously for personal gains. He said corrupt practices by some personnel is a disturbing development which has not only affected national progress but generated public disdain and condemnation and weakened the hands of management at getting better conditions of service. Dr. Asembri made these remarks in a speech read on his behalf at the third biennial national conference of the Junior Staff Association (JSA) of the service which opened at Sunyani yesterday. The four-day conference, under the theme ''human resource development - tool for maintaining a motivated and disciplined workforce'', is being attended by over 60 delegates. Dr. Asembri said the image of the service is sinking fast due to the ''presence of a small group whose activities border on plain indiscipline and criminality'' and appealed to the genuine ones to help flush them out. ''The overwhelming public indictment on CEPS officials is a worrisome one and you should therefore resolve to co-operate closely with management to flush out all the bad elements whose activities have generated negative perception about our organisation,'' he stated. He stressed the need for personnel to operate according to code of instructions and orders of the service to maximise revenue for national development. Dr. Asembri reiterated the determination of CEPS's management to develop the human resource of the service through training in spite of the huge cost involved. The national chairman of the association, Mr. Paul K. Mends said the establishment of a sustainable training scheme by management would minimise ''the malfeasance in the system and lead to improvement in our image''. He called on the management to expedite action on the draft revised conditions of service submitted for endorsement to motivate personnel, since the present one is outdated. In a speech read for him, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. David Osei-Wusu appealed to CEPS officers to strive, within the scanty resources available to them, to live up to expectation. He said the government within the constraints of the economy would not abandon the service but would try to equip it to enable it continue to play its strategic national functions.