These freight forwarders believe the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has performed poorly with regards to addressing the challenges at the port.

Speaking to Citi News’ Tema Correspondent Elvis Washington ahead of the President’s State of the Nation Address slated for tomorrow, [Thursday] February 8, 2018 in Parliament, some of the freight forwarders said a review of the paperless system will alleviate their plight.

[contextly_sidebar id=”mko1SdyTE9fYDg2hJXtao3IKIiA9Mjer”]Some of them also appealed for the removal of some processes they consider bottlenecks at the port, which they said obstruct the efficient clearing of goods.

One of the freight forwarders said the NPP’s first year in office “has been very disappointing in the sense that, since the NPP came values have increased so much.”

“Formerly, we used to pay a 100% penalty for short collection. But now we are paying 300% penalty and it is very worrying. Importers are complaining and it is affecting our job. It has slowed down importation. So comparing the former government to this, it has been very bad,” he added.

Another one also complained that some reforms made at the port have not been helpful to them.

“With the process they’ve brought onboard, it’s double work. So if they will review the paperless system they should do it because it will help the government, freight forwarders and importers. Because now there are all sorts of bottleneck processes at the port. So if it should be reviewed it will be very helpful. After going to GCNET and sending a declaration, you need to go back to the West Blue platform which is causing a huge problem. Secondly too, they should check the benchmark values they are giving because we’ve seen nothing,” a freight forwarder added.

Another also said: “On a scale of one to ten, I will rank the government two because of the bottlenecks at the port.”

Another embittered freight forwarder also said “I want the government to consider reviewing the taxes and exchange rates.”

Paperless system

The paperless clearing system was started on September 1, 2017, following a directive by the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, that the port authorities automate all processes to reduce human interaction.

The move was aimed at reducing turnaround time for businesses and eliminating corruption.

According to the Vice President revenue increased from GHc130 million in the first week of September 2016, to GHc213 million in the same period for 2017.

Click below to listen to the full report by Elvis Washington:

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post #SOTNGhana: Freight forwarders want paperless system reviewed [Audio] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the acting head of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Service, DCOP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, the system was being piloted in 26 police stations in Accra and Tema.

[contextly_sidebar id=”zFHqPnJeAamHR6430i3OaKH39kPciV51″]She stated that, the system, once it is fully operational, was expected to create a seamless integration of police efforts across the country.

This she said would ensure that all cases are prosecuted quickly and fairly to all parties involved.

“We want to look at a Criminal Investigations Department where we respect the rights of everybody, whether you are a suspect, complainant or victim. We want our officers to be trained in the new, modern trends of investigation. We’ve all heard about going paperless, we also want to do that. As part of the police service’s transformation, one of the thematic areas is to look at modernizing the CID,” DCOP Tiwaa Addo-Danquah told Citi News.

“We’ve started piloting in 26 police stations in Accra and Tema, where most of the things are going paperless. This is so that even if I sit in my office, I’ll know what is happening at the Adabraka Police Station, how many cases are reported and how they are managing them, how many suspects are in custody and whether they’ve exceeded the required 48 hours. Human beings have the tendency to do what they want if nobody is watching and nobody is monitoring.”

DCOP Tiwaa Addo-Danquah made these comments after officials of the CID paid a courtesy call on Citi FM as part of a familiarization tour.

According to the acting CID boss, she is committed to ensuring that her outfit improved its efficiency in preventing crimes not just coming in after they have already happened.

“We’re going to have a CID where officers are self-motivated, not only my money, but that they’ll be motivated to work in such a way that we’ll be able to prevent crime. Crime prevention is key for us, instead of waiting for the crime to happen and then we investigate. We’ll rather do proactive and not reactive policing,” she said.

It has been suggested in some quarters that DCOP Tiwaa Addo-Danquah would be limited in terms of what she can do in an acting position.

However, she brushed aside those concerns, stating that her position as acting head would not affect her commitment to her job.

“Whether I’m acting [as Head of the CID] or in a substantive position, it doesn’t change my attitude towards work. I know I have to do something to make an impact at the CID. I won’t be able to tell you when, but it doesn’t affect how I’m going to work.”

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By: Edwin Kwakofi & Sixtus Dong-Ullo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Police piloting paperless system to improve efficiency appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The concerns by the businesses come barely three months into the start of the paperless clearing system.

Citi Business News’ Tema correspondent, Elvis Washington, reports that many of the clearing agents and freight forwarders are still seen carrying huge loads of papers to get their goods cleared at the ports.

[contextly_sidebar id=”TgAh6b5piNS6nzM5iHYf3k3NtwXaF8O0″]Some clearing agents who spoke to Citi Business News expressed their dissatisfaction with the development.

“Nothing has changed in my line of duty; I’m into free zone exports and imports. Currently, we’re still writing landing accounts. The only thing that has changed is compliance officers being moved from Tema to headquarters. We’re still writing landing accounts. Officers are still going to the field to check containers. The things we were doing previously we’re still doing them, nothing has changed. If they know something has changed they should let us know,” one clearing agent bemoaned.

Another also remarked that, “It is the same process we’re using, its only compliance that is not in Tema, and even that one there are issues. Because if the officer in Accra doesn’t understand something, how would I manage to explain things to him so that my work will go? The 4-hours for getting goods cleared is a facade. Sending compliance from Tema to Accra is the only difference, nothing else. We still join the preventive queue and we still go to GPHA for revenue. We’re still holding our papers for examination.”

One clearing agent mentioned that, “If I apply online and pay online, that is what you refer to as paperless. Currently, if I apply for the invoice from GPHA, I have to print a document and bring documents from the office. So I don’t think there is a paperless system. The only difference is the movement of compliance from the long room to head office.”

Paperless systems increase revenue

The paperless clearing system started on September 1, 2017.

It followed a directive by the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, that the port authorities automate all processes to reduce human interaction.

The move was also to reduce the turnaround time for businesses and eliminate corruption.

According to the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, revenue increased from GHc130 million in the first week of September 2016, to GHc213 million in the same period for 2017.

Freight forwarders’ perspective

A Technical Committee Member of the Freight Forwarders’ Association, Johnny Mantey, also shared his thought on the development.

“What has changed is that, you don’t have to carry documentation into the long room anymore; that has now been put on the compliance platform. You now don’t need to go to long room anymore. It is the port process that is still the same. Though you go to the port and everything is on the system, you still have to sometimes print your documentation to go through the process. What pertains is no departure from the old system.”

On how to reverse the trend, Mr. Johnny Mantey pushed for a review of the total process to identify the lapses.

He said the outfit has already embarked on a process to get the concerns addressed.

“The Ghana Institute of Freight forwarders is doing an assessment of the paperless port system currently, and will come out with a report soon.”

Meanwhile, efforts to reach the Customs Division of the GRA for a reaction to these concerns have so far been unsuccessful.

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By: Elvis Washington & Bobbie Osei/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

The post Delays in clearing goods persist despite paperless system appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to them, their earlier complaints of delay in the system was genuine, and not a ploy to sabotage the process.

“We clearly have challenges and to express these challenges that we have on the ground, I’m not sure it will be translated to mean not being comfortable with the system or trying to sabotage the system,” President of the Ghana Institute for Freight Forwarders, Kwabena Ofosu Appiah, said on Eyewitness News on Tuesday.

Mr. Appiah made the remark in response to some disparaging comments made against them by the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

[contextly_sidebar id=”3Zg67MrmZywiG1H9g0V0F1E1v47GaFQt”]Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia while speaking at the launch of the onboarding programme for National Service Personnel into the National Communications Authority on Tuesday , claimed that an initial assessment of the implementation of the paperless system had shown a revenue collection improvement of 56 percent.

According to him, revenue at the ports increased from GHc130 million in the first week of September 2016, to GHc213 million in the same period for 2017.

“The results are amazing. We just looked at data this morning – first week of collections under the paperless system in September this year compared to last year first week of collections in September 2016, and collections have gone up by 56 percent; 56 percent from around GHc130 million to GHc213 million in one week,” he added.

He also lambasted the freight forwarders for complaining over the few challenges they encountered trying to clear their good using the paperless system.

“On September 1, we launched the paperless [system], but of course not without attempts to actually derail the process, because it’s hurting a lot of people who were making free money and people who used to take two weeks to clear a container after one day of delay were protesting.  Are you protesting the system or something else?”

But President of the Freight Forwarders Institute said “I am very sure that when the lines are drawn there will be a very huge distinction between those so-called saboteurs and those who are expressing a certain anxiety or frustration as a result of the punks of implementation.”

“With regards to what the Vice President said, we were not even immediately looking at the statistics but giving what he has quoted, 56 percent jump in revenue we can immediately identify with that, but it doesn’t mean we do not have challenges with implementation on the ground,” he added.

Background

Government began the implementation of the paperless clearing system on September 1, 2017, to speed up the process of clearing goods from two weeks to four hours, and ensure order at the port, whilst blocking loopholes.

But the aim to which the system was established experienced some hitches following which hundreds of angry Freight Forwarders thronged the Longroom of the Tema Port to protest over the delays in the system at the beginning.

Paperless system backlog cleared – GRA

In a related development, the Commissioner for the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority  (GRA), Isaac Crentsil, explained that his outfit has rectified challenges that impeded the smooth take off of the paperless clearing system.

He added that the backlog with the compliance unit has also been cleared.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post We’re not sabotaging paperless system – Freight forwarders appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, revenue at the ports increased from GHc130 million in the first week of September 2016, to GHc213 million in the same period for 2017.

[contextly_sidebar id=”SBFlNma5WuH2fxPfnndQhhARpyHQxQH0″]Speaking at the launch of the onboarding programme for National Service Personnel into the National Communications Authority, Dr. Bawumia stated that, the recent agitation against the scheme was meant to derail it due to revenue leakage  that were blocked.

“On September 1, we launched the paperless [system], but of course not without attempts to actually derail the process, because it’s hurting a lot of people who were making free money and people who used to take two weeks to clear a container after one day of delay were protesting.  Are you protesting the system or something else?”

“The results are amazing. We just looked at data this morning – first week of collections under the paperless system in September this year compared to last year first week of collections in September 2016, and collections have gone up by 56 percent; 56 percent from around GHc130 million to GHc213 million in one week,” he added.

Government began the implementation of the paperless clearing system on September 1, 2017, to speed up the process of clearing goods from two weeks to four hours, and ensure order at the port, whilst blocking loopholes.

But the aim to which the system was established experienced some hitches following which hundreds of angry Freight Forwarders thronged the Longroom of the Tema Port to protest over the delays in the system at the beginning.

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By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

The post Port revenue up by 56% after paperless system – Bawumia appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The new system was started on September 4, 2017, following a directive by Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, for port agencies to migrate to a paperless system.

“MPS started with a Terminal Operating System (TOS) provided by Navis SPARCS, a world class port solution provider, and currently running on Navis N4 database with XPS (Operational tool) that is the latest generation TOS,” MPS revealed in a statement.

[contextly_sidebar id=”mdrzOQqmrB5TEt3DAeZrsebLZ8mYw94Y”]The paperless clearance system was piloted in August, with its official commencement on September 4. When it started, hundreds of angry freight forwarders thronged the Longroom of the Tema Port over delays in the clearance of their consignments.

They complained that they were not educated on the processes involved, and have thus called on the government to suspend it.

Following these agitations, an IT analyst, Sam Sackey, cautioned that the threat of saboteurs shouldn’t be discounted.

Navis N4 is a platform that powers intelligent movement of goods through container terminals worldwide. It allows customers the flexibility and scalability to run their operations from a single terminal to multiple terminals across multiple geographic locations, all at the same time.

“Shipping lines can track their containers during the delivery process from the MPS Terminals while customers are no longer obliged to submit hard copies of Shipping Line delivery orders and Customs Release to MPS for confirmation. MPS TOS is automatically updated when delivery orders are issued and Customs Releases are approved via GICCS.”

The process summary for various types of transactions is as follows:

CONSIGNEE IMPORT DELIVERY

• Agent processes release with Shipping Lines, Customs and other statutory bodies;
• MPS will automatically receive the electronic releases via GICCS;
• Registered Clearing Agents may log on to MPS Web Portal;
• Request/Create the container(s) invoice online;
• Make payment online;
• Book a truck Entry Permit online & send Truck(s) to MPS;
• MPS will load container(s) on truck(s) and issue Waybill/EIR at Gating-out;
• MPS TOS will transmit EDI to the GICCS & Lines’ servers.

ICD IMPORT DELIVERY

• ICD Terminal processes their container allocation with the Shipping Line and Customs.
• Once the Cargo Movement Report (CMR) is created, GICCS automatically updates MPS TOS;
• ICD Terminal sends trucks to MPS;
• On Gating-out containers, MPS TOS will transmit EDI to the GICCS & Lines’ servers;
• MPS periodically sends invoice to ICD Terminal;
• ICD Terminal makes online payment.

FULL EXPORT RECEPTION

• Shipping line sends EDI message to MPS the containers’ bookings;
• Clearing Agent processes release with Shipping Lines, Customs and other statutory bodies;
• MPS will automatically receive the releases of BoE from GICCS;
• Registered Clearing Agents may log on to MPS Web Portal;
• Request/Create the container(s) invoice online;
• Make payment online;
• Book a truck Entry Permit online & send Truck(s) to MPS;
• MPS will off load container(s) and issue Waybill/EIR at Gating-out;
• MPS TOS will transmit EDI to the GICCS & Lines servers.

EMPTY EXPORT RECEPTION

• Shipping Agent/Line transmits standard EDI file which is automatically uploaded in MPS TOS;
• ICD or Transport Company sends trucks with empty container(s) to MPS;
• After Gate-in and off-load, MPS TOS will transmit EDI to the GICCS & Lines servers;
• MPS sends electronic invoice to the Shipping Agent/Line;
• Shipping Agent/Line makes electronic payment to MPS.

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By: Jeffrey Owuraku Sarpong/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @ojsarpong

The post MPS ready to facilitate paperless port clearance appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, such systems are the norm in advanced countries and were long overdue in Ghana.

“In all honesty, I think it is embarrassing that we are now talking about paperless system at the port. We have friends who are engaged in freight forwarding, they know that their counterparts in China and elsewhere have long been introduced to this. They are aware of how these thing works.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”239lrCgFxFKHriyHaal2Jd6j5Gmd3NMh”]“I’m sure when their own partners in China, Britain and so on, hear that they are here fighting over paperless system; they will be surprised because these are well known,” he added while speaking on Citi FM’s news analysis programme, The Big Issue on Saturday.

Government began the implementation of the paperless clearing system last week to reduce the time for clearing goods from two weeks to four hours, and ensure order at the port, whilst blocking loopholes.

But the aim to which the system was established experienced some hitches following which hundreds of angry Freight Forwarders thronged the Longroom of the Tema Port to protest over the delays in the system.

Lawyer Oppong on The Big Issue advised the freight forwarders to employ IT experts to help them better understand the process.

“Of course there are some who are not so much experienced in terms of technology but they must employ people who have the expertise in their offices so that they will also educate them or bring them to the standard,” he said.

He further called on government to also introduce cashless system at the ports to complement the paperless system.

“I think we should go further and do cashless. All these companies [importers] and freight forwarding companies must have bank accounts, there should be a system where their monies are loaded on their cards and linked to even the originating countries …to prevent tax avoidance and tax evasion,” he added.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Confusion over paperless system embarrassing – Yaw Oppong appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Government began the implementation of the paperless clearing system last week to reduce time spent on clearing goods from two weeks to four hours, and ensure order at the port, whilst blocking loopholes.

But the aim to which the system was established experienced some hitches.

[contextly_sidebar id=”YCw9qS3918c04kECs0L9N2zp8YmVCxpb”]Hundreds of angry Freight Forwarders last Thursday thronged the Longroom of the Tema Port to protest over the delays in the system.

Meanwhile, speaking on the Eyewitness News on Friday, the Commissioner for the Customs Division of the GRA, Isaac Crentsil conceded that his staff were overwhelmed with the documents that came through the compliance unit but assured that the hitches will be sorted out before Monday.

“What happened was that what coming to the compliance office was more than the staff. So there was so much pile of work. So throughout the night…we are seriously working on it to clear the backlog. Hopefully by Monday, things will normalize. The work has doubled. In the manual system, one officer was doing about maybe ten a day but now they are doing about 20 which means the work there has doubled and that overwhelmed the staff over there.  But now we have called so many officers into the compliance unit and they have been working from Friday, Saturday and then possible Sunday to clear everything.”

Mr. Crentsil said they currently have “over a 1,000 declarations” to deal with adding that his outfit has put in place measures to have every issue cleared on time.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post We’ll clear paperless system backlog before Monday – GRA appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

As Freight Forwarders lament delays in the clearance process of their goods, Mr. Sackey said he believed there are people working at the port who want the new system to fail.

[contextly_sidebar id=”5W4ymsuqFxY1aJT8z6KhtAKtCA6UvnFT”]”What I see going on, from some information I am getting, is that there are sharks in the system. They like to swallow things. They want to cut corners,” he noted on the Citi Breakfast Show.

In view of this, he said the network infrastructure needed to be adequately protected to prevent any possible tampering.

“What we need is to have physical security at such places. It is not just having a tag and walking to places… you must have physical security.”

Mr. Sackey further underscored the need for backup systems when the network or the power failed, and added that “these things must be secured other than that, someone can sit somewhere, turn some power off and then it jams the whole thing [system].”

He reminded that “there are people out there who do not want this to work. They make tons of millions of Ghana Cedis a year… there are lots of them on both sides; whether customs officials, whether the clearing agents, it cuts across.”

“So definitely, there will be a set of people who will not want this work so that they can have their way for a certain amount of time and say let’s do piloting.”

Need for call centres

Mr. Sackey also said the absence of call centres in the implementation of the paperless system in anticipation of challenges was a misstep in the planning process.

“One thing we are lacking are contact centres or call centres… these problems are going on; how do people even address them? Who do you call? Do we have a number to call?”

“People will have agitations with the new system but what is causing that and how do you address them? So first of all, in everything we do, we should have call centres,” he said.

The government began the implementation of the paperless clearing system on September 2 to speed up the process of clearing goods and plug loopholes.

But barely a week after the project commenced, the agitated freight forwarders complained that the paperless process is slowing down their work.

The freight forwarders before the implementation complained that they were not educated on the processes involved, and had called on the government to suspend it.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Saboteurs could hijack paperless system – Analyst warns appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This follows a directive by Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, for the port agencies to migrate to a paperless system by September 2017, after he observed that the current system had too much human interaction and was at the mercy of corruption.

Although the implementation was met with some stiff opposition from freight forwarders who claimed they were not educated well enough, the paperless system took off as directed.

Below is an infographic capturing the differences between the old system and the paperless system:

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By: Melvin Clottey & Pius Amihere Eduku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post 5 things to know about paperless port system [Infographic] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.