The World Customs Organization’s (WCO) mission to put the younger generation at the center of the global customs transformation is coorporating with the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) goal of fostering intergenerational exchange among customs officers.

At a forum for the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to observe the International Customs Day in 2023, Mr. Samuel Akrofi, Principal Revenue Officer at the Customs Laboratory, expressed this viewpoint.

He believed that the generational exchange would enable customs officers of both the older and younger generations to work together to maximize their respective skills.

Mr. Akrofi pointed out that the first group of customs officers were older, more seasoned individuals who had acquired tacit knowledge over time through the development of competence, skills, and expertise.

The WCO said as part of its goal, customs administrations worldwide must be deliberate about fostering the next generation to carry on the mandate of promoting security, international trade, and revenue collection.

The young cops, he said, were technologically astute, enthusiastic, goal-oriented, and environmentally sensitive, but they lacked tacit knowledge.

Therefore, the methodical transfer of information was required, according to him, in order to prevent the repetition of past errors.

According to Mr. Akrofi, it is now even more important to develop the skills of the younger generation of customs officers in order to meet the industry’s evolving needs.

The war on terror and global trends of growing sustainability consciousness, he continued, had changed the duties of customs administration, making security and preservation of the environment and society a vital part of it.

The Principal Revenue Officer added that it had become necessary for customs administrations to have capabilities for identifying and minimizing security vulnerabilities as well as those related to environmental and social sustainability.

According to him, the GRA Customs Division had been training its workers in the “SAFE” Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade, the WCO Program Global Shield, the Strategic Trade Control Enforcement Program, and other programs on Illicit Financial Flows, among other things.

He said that the WCO also mandates the use of big data, artificial intelligence, and neural networks by customs administrations in West and Central Africa in response to the escalating criminal and terrorist risks in the area.