Collinet ends his 45-year tour of duty

After just over 45 years at SA Revenue Service, Gavin Collinet is finally leaving the world of Customs. Currently a senior specialist in Customs, Collinet started his career in Cape Town, directly from school, in January 1967. During a career that spanned the full spectrum of Customs-related functions, he was also involved in the development and implementation of a number of significant initiatives and policies – Air Cargo Transfer Manifests, the ATA Carnet System, the introduction of containerisation, the introduction of VAT collections at BLNS border posts, the creation of the common user CCA1 clearance process and the introduction of standardised road freight manifests to mention a few. In July 1995 he was appointed acting director and the following year took over as Customs director, assuming responsibility for Customs operations through international land, sea and air ports of entry, including liaison with Customs’ main client base. He has always made himself accessible to FTW staff, sharing his prodigious knowledge and taking criticism on the chin. Indeed, at a time when “transparency” was still an expletive in SA’s bureaucratic vocabulary, he actually opened doors for FTW and others in the media to the internal thinking of Customs. It was largely his down-toearth approachability that endeared him even to some of Customs’ worst detractors. During his tenure as director he identified the lack of Customs policy development over many years and the need for a dedicated Customs Policy Division which was created and then headed up by him until the early 2000s. During 2002, Collinet was amongst the first group of Customs officers to receive the WCO Award for Integrity. He has since then been a senior specialist: Customs and has been involved in developing and implementing the policy and procedures for the Internal Administrative Appeal process which was implemented in June 2007, and has been chairperson of the Customs National Appeal Committee in Pretoria since. “It has been a great journey which has been made meaningful by the work done and the interaction with colleagues and clients throughout the years,” said Collinet. “Along the journey I have served eight commissioners of Customs/Sars, eight ministers of finance and seven heads of Government. The 45 years have just flashed by. I was blessed to have been given the opportunities and challenges to make a difference and to leave tracks behind, which will hopefully provide guidance for some time to come and be of benefit to Sars as well as stakeholders. After my long stint as a civil servant, I will miss the thrust, parry and camaraderie of work, but look forward, Lord willing, to spending quality time with my family and friends.”