position of Collector of Customs will harm morale and serve to further stymie the aspirations of Bermudians, a Shadow Minister said yesterday.

Alex Scott, Shadow Labour and Immigration Minister was reacting to Finance Minister Grant Gibbons' decision to make Mrs. Winniefred Fostine-DeSilva the designate Collector of Customs once present Collector, Gerry Ardis, retires.

For the next three years, Mrs. Fostine-DeSilva will work alongside a senior experienced officer who will be brought in from the United Kingdom on a three year contract.

Government has said that the position of Collector of Customs will be advertised within the UK Customs and Excise Department and the successful applicant will take over the helm when Mr. Ardis leaves later this year.

But Mr. Scott heaped scorn upon Government's handling of the issue.

He said:"How long is Government going to continue this charade of suggesting that Bermudians, like this woman with more than 25 years' experience in Customs, are unable to aspire to the top position? "It should be recalled that Mr. Ardis had absolutely no experience or background of any consequence in Customs work.

"He has not done an outstanding job at Customs but he has done the job. He did the job with less experience then most of the senior Customs officers he found there when he took up his post.

"What Government has done with Mrs. Fostine-DeSilva is a good example of Government's thinking.'' Mr. Scott said that Mrs. Fostine-DeSilva had a Bachelor's degree and was working on Master's degree in Finance. Additionally, she had successfully completed a course for senior managers within the civil service.

Consequently, he said, to suggest that this training was not good enough to earn her the top job cast questions on the legitimacy of Government's own course for managers.

"If that course, and her degree, in addition to her 26 years of service in Bermuda's Customs was not enough, I do not know what is,'' he said.

But Dr. Gibbons, the Minister responsible for Customs, said Mrs.

Fostine-DeSilva's elevation to the designate Collector of Customs position was a substantial promotion which would result in her jumping a number of grades.

"To say that just because she has been at Customs for 26 years she deserves to be the Collector is not responsible management,'' Dr. Gibbons said.

"To say that she is being denied the top job is not on.''