Press Release
The PNG Customs Service officially farewelled former Commissioner Gary Juffa on Tuesday November 15, 2011 after Mr. Juffa decided to resign in October to contest for a seat in next year's National General Elections.
Although it was obviously a very hard decision to leave the organisation which, he was largely instrumental in setting up and shaping, Mr. Juffa said he could not ignore his people's plight and their requests to contest to represent them on the floor of parliament. Mr. Juffa hails from the Northern Province and intends to contest for the Governor's seat.
Added to that, the former Commissioner also believes that he is leaving the organization in the hands of very capable officers whom he trusts will work together to continue to maintain and improve on the progress made so far.
Addressing family members, friends, work acquaintances and fellow Customs officers who attended the farewell at the Gateway Hotel in Port Moresby, Mr. Juffa said; "But my people have asked me to stand up and represent them and their interests. They are concerned about what is happening in this country. They are afraid that they will be alienated from their land and their resources. They do not want to be standing on the outside looking in. They don't want to be sitting under the table looking for crumbs. They want to participate in the development of this country. Therefore I have decided to stand with them."
Popular radio personality Roger Hau'ofa, who was also the master of ceremony, said he was amazed at what PNG Customs has accomplished so far since being established in 2009, considering there were only over 285 Customs officers nationwide serving a country populated with over seven million people. He said Customs has done well despite not being fully funded.
"I never stop praising you guys (Customs officers) for the work that you are doing and for the professionalism and commitment you have shown."
He said Mr. Juffa has gone on his talkback show on numerous occasions to talk about issues like housing and better conditions for his officers.
"He has said many times that in order for his officers to be happy and to give their best to the organisation, they must be well looked after, and he is always knocking on people's doors to have this done. Although on many instances in the past he has had to go through various opposition from different categories of people with vested interests, he has been able to convince the hierarchy that his officers need the support of the Government."
"We have sacrificed so much", Mr. Juffa told his officers. "We have done as much as we could do to for this country and for this department. I decided to separate PNG Customs from the Internal Revenue Commission (IRC) because I became frustrated. I wanted an organisation that could fulfill its responsibilities and obligations of community protection and border security. Our people were suffering and so I made a submission quietly and I presented that submission to current Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah, who drove it through Government and Customs became a separate organisation in 2009, so that once more, we could look after the interest of the people and this country. I was not interested in merely facilitating business for foreign interests. I love this country, it is my country. And that is the reason why I separated this organisation so that we could give something back to our people."
"And for that I have been punished because there are several departments that refuse to recognise what I have done. They have refused to pay me out my contract. They refuse to pay me for the position I held for two and a half years because I decided to stand up for the people of this country. The people of this country are more important, not foreign business, not greed and profit, and I was willing to sacrifice for that. And I must say thank you to my family, because they sacrificed along with me so that I could serve my country. I paid to serve my country and I don't regret one single moment for doing that. On this very day, I still have not been paid but you know what? That is my gift to my people. Whether you pay me or not, it does not matter. I have presented to this country an organisation that for once can stand up and protect the interests of this country's economy, its people and its future generation.
"And I can tell you that none of this would be possible without the officers that stood with me", Mr. Juffa stated referring to the progress made by the PNG Customs Service. "The officers who believed in what I believed in, who worked tirelessly, who worked hard, who toiled day and night without pay or compensation of any sorts. They did what they could because they believed in my leadership and I am proud of them because I would not have been able to achieve any of this without them. They are here tonight and I want to thank all of them for their efforts and for what they have done. They have demonstrated that Papua New Guineans are capable of achieving and that they do not need to be led or managed by anybody else other than themselves, if they make that effort. And I am proud of that.
The welfare of my officers is the utmost important thing that I had hoped to achieve", Mr. Juffa added. "I want them to own homes, to live in decent houses, to have the resources that they need so that they can do what they need to do for this country. I want them to have houses so that their children can go and open the fridge in their own living rooms. They do not have to live with wantoks, they do not have to live in settlements and in villages but in their own homes. I know this because I was one of those children from the outside looking in, always living with somebody else, moving from house to house, villages and settlements. I know about all this because I lived it."
Deputy Commissioner for Regional Operations John Pomoso has taken over as Caretaker Commissioner of Customs until such a time when the National Executive Council appoints a permanent Commissioner.
Mr. Juffa has been a Customs officer for 15 years, five of those as Commissioner.