Jamaica Customs to Hosts Community-based Engagement in St. Ann

The Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) will make its fourth stop in the ‘Garden Parish’ of St. Ann, for its public education engagement “Customs Meets the Community,” under the theme:  ‘Reaching Our Customers Where They Are.’

The event will be held on Friday, March 23, 2018, at the Anglican Church Hall in Ocho Rios, from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., and will bring together several stakeholders including school and church administrators, business leaders, political representatives, entrepreneurs, returning residents, members of civil society and other government entities.

During the 2017/18 Financial Year, the JCA embarked on a series of community-based public education sessions which allowed the entity to better connect with its customers, and also create more awareness about Customs policies and procedures, among other Customs related matters.

For this series, the Agency has taken a holistic approach in providing information to its stakeholders, by collaborating with some of its border and regulatory agencies, including the Agriculture Incentives Unit of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF), which will join the Agency on this leg of the journey to St. Ann.

Other entities with which the entity has partnered are the Department of Cooperatives and Friendly Societies (DCFS), the Pesticides Control Authority (PCA) and the Plant Quarantine Unit.

Since May 2017, the Agency has held Engagements in Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth, Spanish Town, St. Catherine and Port Antonio, Portland in tandem with the Social Development Commission (SDC), which assists in identifying and mobilising the various target groups.