Be satisfied in the knowledge of having done the right thing, the Prime Minister tells Customs Class of 2025

NASSAU, The Bahamas -- The Bahamas Customs and Excise Department held a commencement exercise Thursday, February 26, 2026 at Myles Munroe Diplomat Centre for its Class of 2025. The ceremony was held under the theme, 'Entrusted with Authority, Guided by Integrity.'

The 78 graduates underwent six months of training to become customs/revenue officers. Graduates were presented certificates by Customs Comptroller Ralph Munroe.

The Hon. Philip Davis, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, gave the keynote address, admonishing the graduates to always be guided by their integrity, and learn to be satisfied in the knowledge of having done the right thing.

He said: "Today, seventy-eight nation builders have agreed to stand at the threshold guarding the entry points to our nation.Think for a moment about what it means to guard an archipelago. We are not a mass of land with a single defined border. We are scattered islands spanning over 100,000 square miles.

"Every dock on each island is a doorway into our nation. Every airstrip and airport is a door. And you are now the guardians of those many doors.

"No pressure. But a lot is riding on you."

The Prime Minister continued, "As you embark on your careers, I need to tell you something no one ever puts in the recruitment brochure: as important as your work is, almost nobody will ever thank you for it.

"The traveller who goes through your checkpoint probably won't think about you after the interaction is done. And when they do, they won't always like the fact that you enforced the law so strictly.

"And the shipment of firearms or illegal drugs you intercept: the community spared from that violence will never know how close they came to experiencing it.

"You will do vital, nation-building work with very little fanfare."

Prime MInister Davis pointed out, they must be satisfied in the knowledge of having done the right thing: "You will face the decisions you make each time you look in the mirror. And I can assure you that, in this instance, the reward is never worth the risk. The officers who built this department's reputation across generations did not just leave a legacy of policies. They left a legacy of choices: small, daily choices to do things the right way.

"That legacy is now yours to continue. And I am confident that you will uphold the standard."

(BIS Photos/Mark Ford)