Alfred Zinbankaara Zorizu, a Principal Collector at the Finance and Corporate Department of the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) has asked officers and men of the service to put into effect quality management styles and be totally committed to make CEPS more vibrant. He said with the product scope of the service now grown beyond mere revenue collection, CEPS needed innovative and quality managers who can think beyond time and become source of inspiration to others. Mr Zorizu was addressing a two-day sensitization seminar of officers and men of the Aflao sector of the service as part of a series of programmes on a five-year strategic growth plan of the service on Thursday at Denu. Topics treated included characteristics of planning, main features of strategic planning, deposits of a strategic plan, uses of a strategic plan, levels of strategic plan and why a strategic plan for CEPS? Mr Zorizu said the protection of national security has become another dynamics of the work environment of the service and so personnel need to be multi-skilled to deliver. He noted that CEPS personnel must be abreast with the changes and dynamics of the environment in which they work, including understanding the people in the border communities, adding that it is dangerous for an officer to be ignorant about his work environment. Mr Zorizu called for good relations between CEPS and the border communities adding that CEPS personnel must be able to educate and advise border communities on laws governing the work of CEPS. He said ignorance among the border communities could also be a conflict point. Mr Zorizu said the strategic plan is to provide the service with its true direction and focus, where personnel would become true agents of change but not pretenders. Jonathan Boateng, Second-in-Command of the Aflao sector of CEPS, in an address on behalf of the sector commander said a strong commitment of both management and officers is relevant for the attainment of strategic plan objectives. He said operational lapses needed to be eliminated and efforts coordinated at all levels to realize the set goals. Source: GNA