Commenting on the retirement of the Collector of Customs, Mr John Rodriguez after almost 38 years of service, the Chief Minister, the Hon Faban Picardo QC MP, said: “On behalf of the Government and of the people of Gibraltar, I thank Mr Rodriguez for his exemplary work and dedication during his almost 38 years of service for HM Government of Gibraltar and in particular for his work as Collector of Customs during the last 15 years.
Mr Rodriguez is a consummate professional who has been indispensable to me in my time as Chief Minister, as he will have been to my predecessor. I could simply not have managed some of the most sensitive aspects surrounding Brexit without him supporting me and the Financial Secretary through the relevant parts of the negotiations and discussions. Additionally, Mr Rodriguez’s work on the upgrade in customs software to the ASYCUDA was groundbreaking and he must be explicitly thanked for it.
Finally, Mr Rodriguez’s commitment to Gibraltar has been unprececendted and, having put off his retirement twice at my request, I would like to wish him the very best in his retirement, given I have been unable to persuade him to once again postpone it! I know that he has prepared his department well for a successor to take over a well resourced and highly motivated group of dedicated public servants who provide an important part of our recurrent revenue. I will, nonetheless, miss John’s wise counsel greatly.”
