The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian software developer yesterday said individual Customs officers have discouraged him from submitting a proposal that would save “major time” on entering air arrivals data.

Clyde Symonette, Information Specialists Ltd’s (ISL) managing director, told Tribune Business he had approached a “line staff” official over implementing his Single Window Management (SWIM) software for air arrivals clearance when the Minnis administration was in office. However, he was dissuaded from submitting a formal proposal because Customs would “prefer to use one system”.

Mr Symonette admitted he never moved forward with the idea after that encounter, saying: “After that, I decided not to go any further with my proposal.” The SWIM software is already in use by Customs for its ‘Click2Clear’ entry system, and he added that the product is already “saving time and money for the users”.

Customs brokers took time to become familiar with Click2Clear due to how long it took to input entries into the system, while the process was afflicted by typical glitches and teething problems at the outset. The SWIM software allows users to upload their invoices directly into the Click2Clear system.

The SWIM software allows Customs officers to check the tariff on any item one time, and it shows up as a featured item instead of having to check - and double check - the system or log for what a tariff number is, “so it gets smarter and smarter every time you use it”.

Mr Symonette said: “The SWIM is a powerful product and it is working very well. We want the Government to use it for airport arrivals and they didn’t even give us an opportunity to submit our proposal. We would have given Bahamians and tourists alike the ability to get online, fill in their declaration form and attach their documents so that by the time they get to Nassau all of that stuff would be already in the system.

“They can present that to the Customs officer, and all the Customs officer has to do is just make their inspection. This is the kind of stuff SWIM could do for the Customs Department, but they didn’t even let us get a chance to submit a proposal.”

Implementing the software for air arrivals would cost a six-figure sum at most, but Mr Symonette described this as doable and something that will “save the Government major time and maximise revenue”.

“Because the Customs officer’s mind was locked into using one system they were not even prepared to have a discussion on how we could tie into that system,” he added. “With SWIM you can capture everything on the front end and it still goes in the system using the Click2Clear, because that’s what we’re doing right now for businesses using it.

“So we have the technology in place and it is working right now, so it is just a matter of using SWIM as your front-end into your system and it is an easy integration.”