The Ghana Shippers Council has initiated a move to establish Information Communication Technology (ICT) centres to make internet facilities more accessible to their clients to enable them to source for the requisite information that would enhance their business operations.
This is to expand their business operations to enhance their competitiveness in the international market, and maximise their profit margins.
The Chief Executive of the Ghana Shippers Council, Mr Kofi Mbiah, who announced this, said the council was also collaborating with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to source for the requisite funding that would facilitate the establishment of the Boankra Inland Port to enable the project to begin as early as possible.
He explained that the early execution of the inland port would enable shippers in the northern sector of the country and neighbouring landlocked countries to access their goods through the inland port, thereby reducing the cost and risk of travelling to the Tema Port to cart their goods.
Mr Mbiah, who announced this in Kumasi during a forum organised by the Ghana Shippers Council to offer a platform for Shippers to interact with stakeholders, pointed out that "the issue of efficiency in our ports and land entry points in relation to the clearance of goods has been a matter of concern to Ghanaian shippers over the years".
Representatives from the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President’s Special Initiatives; Ministry of Harbours and Railways; Destination Inspection Companies; Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority; Customs, Excise and Preventive Service; Shipowners and Agents Association of Ghana, as well as Customs Brokers Association of Ghana, Freight Forwarders Association of Ghana, and the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders, attended the forum.
Others like the GCNet, Guta, Meridian Port Services, Golden Jubilee Terminal, Ghana Immigration Service and the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry also attended the forum.
Mr Mbiah admitted that efforts made by stakeholders to streamline the clearance procedures at the ports had not "attained the efficiency levels anticipated by shippers".
He said the missing of containers at the ports, excessive charges by some clearing agents and shipping lines, delays in processing documents at entry points and the delays in the processing of Final Classification Valuation Report, rent and other costs, were among the numerous problems that shippers in Ghana had brought to the attention of the Ghana Shippers Council over the years.
Mr Mbiah noted that delays in berthing, difficulties in locating containers, pilfering, damage to cargo, deterioration of perishable goods due to faulty reefer points, excessive examination by CEPS, as well as congestion caused by trucks, proliferation of charges, the non-payment of freight by forwarders to shipping lines and the uncleared cargoes that detained containers of shipping lines thereby taking up space of the port, were some of the problems that had been confronting the council over the years.
"Solution to these problems would require the concerted efforts of all the stakeholders," he stated, but noted that it would be necessary for the government to strengthen its internal tax collection mechanism as a long-term solution to the high level of corruption associated with the cargo clearing process and the huge loss of revenue to the state.
Explaining further, Mr Mbiah noted that the strengthening of the internal tax collection mechanisms would reduce the high dependence on import duties as the mainstay of government's revenue generation.
He also commended the government for introducing the talk tax as a way of enhancing its revenue generation, but suggested that measures should be put in place to enforce standards to prevent importers from using the country as dumping grounds for shoddy goods.
He also advised shippers to always transact business with reputable Clearing and Forwarding Agents to enhance their operations.
He said it was equally important for the shippers to consult the council for guidance in their business transactions to "forestall being swindled by charlatans".
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