SARS CUSTOMS OFFICIALS GRADUATE WITH UC QUALIFICATIONS
L-R: Penelope Bologo (Masters in International Customs Law & Administration) and Ms. Elsie Pule (Chief Officer Human Resources)
Front Row L-R: Patrick Moeng, Penelope Bologo, Rae Cruickshank, Loshnee Naidoo, Rene Hattingh, Rena Singh; Back Row L – R: Helena Tripmaker, Petrus Mouers, Vusumuzi Ngcobo, Sipho Dube, Philna van der Walt, Linda du Toit
Brooklyn, Pretoria
'Having formally graduated in September this year, 26 officials of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) were recently awarded University of Canberra graduate certificate, graduate diploma and Masters in International Customs Law & Administration at a colourful ceremony held at the Linton Auditorium in Brooklyn, Pretoria. Creck Buyonge, an Adjunct Associate Professor of the University of Canberra and Regional Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa, Centre for Customs & Excise Studies (CCES) represented CCES and the university at the event held on 4th November 2011.
In a speech read on his behalf by Mr. Gene Ravele, the Chief Officer (Customs Border Management), the Commissioner of SARS Mr. Oupa Magashula lauded the excellent partnership between CCES and SARS through which three groups have already graduated with UC qualifications through online study.
He described the qualifications obtained by the SARS students as being “at the cutting edge of any Customs capacity building strategy,” and challenged the SARS Learning & Development team to develop the capacity to respond “at a pace faster than what operations is able to strategize around new ideas and processes.” In this regard, the SARS Academy is positioning itself for the role of a “corporate university”, an education and learning institution which provides unique specialized services to its parent organization at a level comparable to what is provided in best-in-class universities.
On her part, the Chief Officer Human Resources Ms. Elsie Pule stressed the importance of life-long and research-based learning to the achievement of customs objectives given the ever-changing environment. “Managers in any organization need quality information and reliable analysis on which they base their strategic decision-making,” she said, “They also need to manage change and guide their organizations.”
She challenged the graduates to broaden their mindsets and strive to communicate what they have learnt to others, and stressed that although the students had acquired “a wealth of knowledge, your message has to be understood inside and outside your workplace.” Ms. Pule also emphasized the importance of partnerships between Customs and other administrations, with business, other government agencies and academia.
Mr. Thinyane Molelle, Executive for Learning & Development/Head of the SARS Academy said that “in our changing world, knowledge is a critical resource and the sharing of knowledge has a multiplying power in impacting the global community.” “Managers need quality information and reliable analysis on which they can base their strategic decisions, and leadership to manage change and guide their organizations.”
In his characteristic candour, Creck Buyonge told the graduates that for a long time, customs managers in Africa were not proactive in managing the changes that were taking place all around them:
We chose to bury our heads in the sand like ostriches, bemoaning the past while doing nothing to create our desired future. We didn’t even seem to know what sort of future we wanted. We saw ourselves as marionettes that were controlled by forces that were too big for us to do anything about. We were soon going to plunge to our deaths like lemmings.
However, the situation has changed in the last few years. With formation of revenue authorities and the pressure to collect all revenues due with constant or diminishing human and financial resources, new threats from trans-national organized crime and demands from governments and the private sector for more efficient service, customs managers have had to up their game. Some have taken advantage of new opportunities to undertake specialized education and training in Customs and related subjects.
In spite of these positive developments, there are many in Africa whose lives are, in the words of the philosopher Thomas Hobbes, “nasty, brutish and short” because they do not have access to affordable and quality health care, education and housing. For this reason, Prof. Buyonge urged the graduates to seek to develop the right knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable them solve the myriad problems facing the country and the continent at large. He echoed the words of Kenyan Nobel laureate Prof. Wangari Maathai, “We’re constantly being constantly bombarded by problems that we face and sometimes we can get completely overwhelmed. [But] we should always feel like a hummingbird. I may feel insignificant, but I don’t want to be like the other animals watching the planet go down the drain. I’ll be a hummingbird. I’ll do the best I can.”
The Centre for Customs & Excise Studies strives to provide relevant global-class education and training to students from everywhere in the world – and each day there are inspiring stories of success against great odds. CCES encourages students to develop a curious mind, the mind of the curious frog that will never be satisfied with its little pond.
Other Senior SARS officials present at the ceremony included Chief Officers Mr. Barry Hore (Operations), Mr. Kosie Louw (Legal and Policy) and Group Executives Mr. William Mpye (Border Management) and Ms. Firdous Jacobs (Contact Centre).
Note
The Centre for Customs & Excise Studies (CCES) is now accepting applications for admission to online and face-to-face Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma in International Customs Law & Administration, Excise Studies and International Revenue Administration, and Masters in International Customs Law & Administration and International Revenue Administration in Semester 2 of the University of Canberra academic calendar (February 2012). Information on these programmes is available in the CCES web site www.customscentre.canberra.edu.au or you can send an email to CCES: customs.centre@canberra.edu.au.
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 3:55PM 
7 November 2011: University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Parker and CCES CEO Professor David Widdowson have been chosen to promote Canberra on a global scale.