The move he said is to protest the yet-to-be introduced levy which they believe is a bad policy to be implemented by the Ghana Health Service.

According to Mr. Mantey, several letters to the Ghana Health Service and relevant stakeholders for some explanation on the yet-to-be implemented policy, have all proved futile hence their action.

[contextly_sidebar id=”9v4BdgRTZwmlgHLd0JvACtecj2DnSesz”]He said GIFF will on Tuesday hold a crucial press conference on the matter where it would state its official position and outline plans to register its protest on the levy.

He noted that, the levy is a bad one which when implemented would only add up to unnecessarily burden the ordinary tax payer, thereby increasing the cost of doing business at the Tema Port.

“Why must the importer be made to pay for a service on a container that does not belong to him or her? We don’t get this. Several letters to the relevant stakeholders are all not yielding any result as they are all tight lipped on the subject matter.”

He continued that “we shall ensure this new yet-to-be introduced levy does not see the light of day because it is not the importer who is supposed to bare the cost of a service on a container that is not his or hers. We are not against the service but we are against the wrong person being asked to pay.”

The acting Chairman of the Concerned Freight Forwarders and Traders Association, COFT, Kwasi Afrawua, also said the they are firmly behind GIFF in opposing the payment of the fumigation levy.

According to him “although inflation is down, cost of products on the market are high and this is partly due to some of these things where the ordinary importer is unnecessarily overburdened with duties which are later passed on to the ordinary end user.”

“We will not allow this fumigation levy to be collected because it is bogus and needless and it is just another well thought out means to extort money from the ordinary importer.”

When Citi News visited the Tema Port, the machines to be used for the fumigation of containers were about 90 percent complete.

All entry and exit points at the Port have been affixed with the machines to fumigate incoming and outgoing containers.

–

By: Elvis Washinton/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Freight Forwarders to fly red flags to protest fumigation levy appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

They maintain that such allegations could not be possible as they go through strict scrutiny in the clearing process.

The comments come on the back of concerns raised by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) over the collapse of major policies should the malpractices at the ports go unresolved.

One key program that the AGI believes the illegality threatens is the one district, one factory.

The President of the AGI, Dr. Yaw Adu Gyamfi announced the plight of the local manufacturers at a media briefing last Thursday, February 1, 2018.

According to him, the issues of under invoicing, under declaration and mis-description have become complex due to reports of custom officials conniving with the perpetrators.

“Paying taxes in Ghana is mandatory yet some criminal minded importers have found cunning ways to evade tax/duties through the connivance with some revenue officials at the ports,” he stated.

Manufacturers lament unfair competition

Commenting on the issue, the CEO of cosmetic firm, FC Group of Companies, Grace Amey Obeng also lamented the unfair pricing compared with imported products.

“Creams that would cost you about 1 cedis to produce in Ghana is being sold out on the market for 1 cedis 50 pesewas and that is impossible considering the cost of production such as packaging, water and electricity…We cannot scale up and compete with the imported products,” she stated.

Another member of the AGI, who is a manufacturer of fruit juice, narrated his story on the impact of the malpractices.

“Almost every supermarket in Ghana has stocked other brands of fruit juices imported into the country which also contain the food concentrates that we have similar ones produced in Ghana. Why then do we not use those that are produced in the country? We are only happy to create jobs for other countries.”

Freight forwarders respond

But reacting to these concerns, the President of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), Kwabena Ofosu Appiah explained that the strict clearing process couldn’t allow such illegalities.

“The Technical Services Bureau does not take the documents that we present hook, line and sinker; this includes the declared intention before it is allowed into the system. We have another crack team of customs officers at the compliance level who have records that have piled up as a result of transactions that have passed through the system.  After all of these you go unto the field and meet another set of customs that is if you are channeled to go through examination,” he told Citi Business News in an interview.

On the specific concern of systems breakdown of the scanner, Mr. Appiah explained as;

“The system that we have on the ground is making it such that goods that are even channeled to the scanner are even reducing; over 76 percent of our operations at the ports is going through the red channel which is physical examination…This goes beyond finding comfort in blaming someone for the challenges at the ports.”

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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

The post Importers reject tax evasion claims by AGI 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.

–

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.

He said the government must provide important details about the new company that will be taking over West Blue’s operations.

A statement from the management of West Blue on Wednesday sighted by citifmonline.com, said an agreement has been entered by the two companies to that effect.

“Customs World, a subsidiary of Ports Customs and Free Zones Corporation (PCFC) Dubai, has signed an agreement to take over West Blue Ghana Limited, the company engaged for the provision of the National Single Window and Risk Management System in Ghana. This agreement formalizes the establishment of ‘Ports & Customs World Ghana Limited,’” the statement said.

“What kind of contractual arrangements is government going to enter with the new company that is taking over from West Blue, and how long is the contract going to last? Is the new company going to continue where West Blue stopped, and how much will it cost?”

“There are a lot of companies that are crying in silence because they entered into contractual arrangements with the previous government. There are genuine questions that need to be asked because it involves money,” he added.

But according to Murtala Mohammed, West Blue’s decision to close operations in Ghana was not voluntary, but were forced to do so by the government.

“I am not surprised at all. Some of us saw it coming. That company went through a lot of frustration when the NPP came to power…I am aware that they went through a lot of frustration. For the purposes of their business interests, they may not want to admit but they were frustrated and a strangely another company has been contracted,” Murtala told Richard Sky on Eyewitness News.

West Blue Consulting, an IT firm engaged by the John Mahama government to provide a National Single Window and Risk Management System in Ghana, had been operating in the country since 2015.

The companies engagement by the former government was met with stiff opposition from members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

There were recent concerns about whether the country was operating a single window or a double window following complaints of a duplication of duty by West Blue Consulting and the Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet) at the ports.

The NPP government’s decision to operate a paperless system at the ports rekindled debates on the operations of GCNet and West Blue.

Details of West Blue’s takeover by Customs World, are yet to be made public.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Gov’t forced West Blue out of business – Murtala appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The container, which was imported from China, is said to have been mis-described, resulting in the near loss of revenue running into thousands of cedis.

According to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs at the Tema Port, Felix Mate-Kojo, the importer and agent declared the container as containing Napsak Sprayer Machine for farmers, Cutting ring for cone crusher, Raw Crusher frame and bucket ears for excavator.

He noted that, the container when physically examined at the scanning section, was detected to be carrying some other consignments which were not on the declaration.

He said further checks revealed hundreds of mobile phones, batteries and other phone accessories as well as some communication equipment in the container, had not been declared on the declaration document by the importer.

He said due to the mis-description, the agent paid five thousand eight hundred and 50 cedis as duty, since the items originally declared are items which attracted taxes below five percent.

Mr. Mate-Kojo said “after having checked the container and physically examined the items one by one, the importer is due to pay about 55 thousand Ghana cedis in duty.”

He added that “as part of measures to ensure agents and importers declare the right duty at all times, there are penalty units that persons who try to outsmart the system are made to pay. To this end, the importer and the freight forwarding company would be surcharged to pay three hundred percent of the total duty plus the original duty. So in that case, this importer would now have to pay about 165 thousand Ghana cedis as penalty with an additional 55 thousand as duty.”

Briefing the media in Tema, the Assistant Commissioner noted that, persons who would like to outsmart the system due to the implementation of the paperless system when caught would not be spared.

He urged freight forwarders to desist from such acts, as it was criminal and that persons caught would not be spared.

“Since the implementation of the paperless, some unscrupulous persons have decided to take advantage of the new system to misbehave and under pay their duty, but we shall clamp down on them and deal with them ruthlessly by naming and shaming all of them as well as punishing them to serve as deterrent to others” he stressed.

Mr. Mate-Kojo, who could not tell who exactly who might have mis-described the declaration, noted that, “The freight forwarding Agency, Senama Logistics Limited in Tema, who stands surety for the importer, United Car Services, would be surcharged to pay the true value of the items in the container before it will be released to them.”

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By: Elvis Washington/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Tema port: Customs seize under-declared container from China 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.

This is according the Communications Chief for the Customs Excise and Preventive Service of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Paa Kow Ekumah.

[contextly_sidebar id=”eFloPFwYeI4xLtaC38TT6MOCshDOUIdm”]According to him, the challenges experienced by the Freight Forwarders were not envisaged because all the necessary systems had been put in place to ensure that the migration onto a paperless regime at the Port was seamless.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Paa Kow Ekumah said, “until now we haven’t had such hassle. The concerns that you have heard are truly the case and are legitimate. We admit it. At the moment we are all in the engine room with our IT providers and we are working on resolving it,” said.

He said the relevant agencies have been engaged to ensure that the challenges are urgently addressed.

“The challenges are real but it isn’t something we can’t overcome so by tomorrow, we will overcome that…We have put in place all that we need to put in place to make sure that everything will work. Throughout the night we are working on it and by tomorrow [Friday] we will get to know the reason why this happened,” Mr. Ekumah added.

The government began the implementation of the paperless clearing system last Saturday to speed up the process of clearing goods, and ensure order at the port, whiles blocking 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.

Some of the freight forwarders who spoke to Citi News‘ Elvis Washington said although they were promised that they would spend only four hours going through the paperless system, they are currently stranded.

The Deputy Minister of Finance, Kwaku Kwarteng, who went to the place to calm them down was reportedly booed.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Concerned Freight Forwarders Association, Oheneba Kwasi Afawuah has described as unfortunate the behavior of his members towards the Minister.

He, however, indicated that his outfit is not against the paperless regime introduced by the Akufo-Addo government, but is aggrieved they were not properly educated about the system.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We’ll tackle paperless system challenges today – GRA appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Government began the implementation of the paperless clearing system last Saturday to speed up the process of clearing goods, and ensure order at the port, whiles blocking 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 government to suspend it.

Some of the freight forwarders who spoke to Citi News‘ Elvis Washington said although they were promised that they would spend only four hours going through the paperless system, they are currently stranded.

The Deputy Minister of Finance, Kwaku Kwarteng, who went to the place to calm them down was reportedly booed.

“They told us that they were bringing a paperless process, but the education didn’t go down well. Now have sent our declarations and we have not yet received any response. So what do they mean when they say we will be able to clear our goods within four hours? We think they have to suspend the system and educate us well,” an angry freight forwarder said.

Another one said: I’m very unhappy because after making my payment since Monday, I was promised that compliance would be done through the system, I’m yet to receive it, and I can’t do anything.”

“As for the paperless, I think it is a good deal, but we need better education. If we who are supposed to work with the system and we don’t understand and know what is going on, then what is the need for the paperless?,” she asked.

–

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

The post Confusion at Tema Port over paperless system [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Association has now suggested a piloting of the process at the Takoradi Port before full implementation begins in 2018.

[contextly_sidebar id=”T2A2Lhp0sVFuWvDKgqvRHcXkblIKotGv”]The Executive Secretary of Association, Sampson Asaaki Awingobit, explained to Citi News that this course of action would allow them to address possible shortfalls.

He also noted that this would also prevent the Tema Port from encountering any critical hitches as a result of the programme.

“Already, the interdiction of customs officers, numbering about 180, is also affecting clearance process in the ports and “work that used to take 48 hours is not taking about one week or more,” he said.

“The September paperless should begin on a pilot basis. We can use the Takoradi port as a case study and correct the teething problems before we can go on full flow in 2018. We cannot use the Tema Port to joke because we all know a large volume of cargo imported into this country is cleared through Tema port.”

There is some skepticism on the part of the workers at the port, according to Mr. Awingobit, because they “are now going to learn and I am told that they are bringing custom officers from Dubai to come and support our customs officers to implement this first thing.”

The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, in May 2017 first urged all service agencies at the country’s ports to switch to a paperless system by September 2017 because the current system had too much human interaction and was at the mercy of corruption.

Addressing importers, customs officers, and other stakeholders at the Flagstaff House on August 2, Dr. Bawumia warned that terminals which are not ready for automation by the deadline would be left behind, and people who do not comply will be sanctioned.

“We will not accept any excuses,” he stated.

–

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

The post Pilot paperless system first – Importers Association appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

In this piece, the operational efficiency of Ghana’s biggest seaport, the Tema port (controlling about 80 per cent[4] of imports and exports), will be assessed under four key operational indicators: 1) ship turnaround time, 2) the time spent at anchorage, 3) berth productivity and 4) cargo dwell time. Using these indicators, the performance of Tema port will be compared to its promising peers on the continent; the port of Mombasa in Kenya and ports in Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Ngqura all in South Africa[5].

Ship Turnaround Time

Ship turnaround time (STT) measures the time from a ship’s entry into a port to when it leaves the port area. Simply put, it is the time it takes a ship to ‘pack’ at the port, offload its cargo, pick up new cargo, and leave the port. With maritime trade characterized by an unrelenting pursuit of lower costs – from containerization to vessel-sharing-arrangements of shipping lines and the building of ever bigger vessels – to compete effectively in the global supply chains, ports must reduce transport times. STT is a good indicator as it reflects the quality of service at a port. It is also an indicator of a port’s competitiveness as shipping lines lose money for every extra minute spent at the port. The line chart below charts the Ship turnaround time for Ghana (Tema), Kenya (Mombasa) and South Africa.

FIGURE 1: A Comparison of Ship Turnaround Time for Ghana, Kenya and South Africa

Source: Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Northern Corridor Observatory and others[6].

As can be seen clearly from the chart above, while South African ports were averaging STT of 1.5 days, putting it at par with some of the world’s best (both Singapore and Rotterdam ports have STT of between 1 and 2 days)[7], Ghana’s Tema port reduced their ship turnaround time in 2014 to 4.7 days but mostly remained high over period 2010-2016. Previously, ships will take almost a week to offload its cargo, pick up new ones and leave the Tema port for other destinations. Of more concern is the fact that between 2010 and 2016 the STT has actually worsened, suggesting that the Tema port became less competitive over the years. On the other hand, the port of Mombasa is on a quest to realize the full trade potential of the Mombasa Port Corridor, and as a result improved their STT from 5 to 3 days in a space of one year after adopting a port community charter[8] in 2014.

So, what could be accounting for the high and increasing STT at the Tema port? The STT comprises the waiting time before berth and the servicing time. The waiting time before berth which is also known as time spent at anchorage is heavily dependent on the availability of berth. As we will see in the following text, the time spent at anchorage at the Tema port is incredibly high especially when compared to other Sub Saharan African ports. The servicing time which captures the time spent offloading and reloading the ship after it has been berthed is also high and has actually increased by about 20 per cent[9]  between 2010 and 2016. So not only does a ship have to wait for hours before it can dock or ‘pack’, but once it has finally docked, it takes them an equally long time to be serviced before it can leave the Tema port.

The servicing time is critically affected by the cargo volumes, the quality of infrastructure at the port and the skills and efficiency of the gangs working on the cargo. Though cargo volumes have increased over the years, so have the skills of the gangs. Training cost per wages increased by about 88 per cent between 2010 and 2016. Tons worked per gang hour have also increased though by just 7.5 per cent.

Time Spent at Anchorage

Time spent at anchorage, also known as the ship waiting time before berth is the period from the time the ship enters the port area, until its first berth. The average waiting time has a direct effect on STT and it may indicate congestion at the port. At the Tema port, the average waiting time peaked in 2013 to 83 hours (3.5 days) and has since declined to 54 hours (2.25 days) in 2016. This simply means that vessels coming to the Tema port can wait over 2 days before it can dock or ‘pack’. As in the case of the STT, Ghana’s performance does not compare well to that of Kenya who has reduced its average waiting time from 41 hours (1.7 days) to 13 hours (less than a day) in the space of one year.

FIGURE 2: A Comparison of Time Spent at Anchorage for Ghana, Kenya and South Africa

Source: Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Northern Corridor Observatory and others.

As can be seen clearly from figure 2, Kenya’s performance surpassed that of South Africa that averaged 41 hours in ship waiting time. This gives less traction to the argument of limited infrastructure being a major source of delay; South African ports according to the World Bank Logistics performance index[10] have more resources than Kenyan ports. So how did Kenya achieve this impressive result? After adopting the Port Community Charter in 2014, the port of Mombasa also adopted a Fixed Berthing Window policy with the aim of reducing its average waiting time to 24 hours (a day). Figure 3 shows the dramatic decline in the waiting time, even declining below the target of 24 hours.

FIGURE 3: Time Spent at Anchorage for the Mombasa Port in Kenya

Source: The Northern Corridor Observatory

A Fixed Berthing Window simply means allotting a particular time window to a vessel for berthing. Thus, the shipping line can plan with the time allotted. The port of Tema with its 14 berths, which is quite close to Mombasa’s 19 berths uses a ‘first come, first service’ berthing plan. This implies that several vessels can come at the same time to the port and thus will have to wait for a berth to be available. In 2012, ships were waiting up to 10 days just to berth in Tanzanian ^[11] ports and this translated into an additional cost of 22 per cent on container imports and about 5 per cent on bulk imports. Clearly, delays and inefficiencies are costly.

Berth Productivity

Another indicator worth considering is the berth productivity. Berth productivity like the time spent at anchorage has a direct bearing on STT.  Unlike other indicators, berth productivity is one of the areas that Ghana’s Tema port has shown some level of consistent improvement. Berth productivity is defined in this work as the tons worked per ship hour at the berth. As can be seen from the figure below, berth productivity at the Tema port increased from 102 tons per hour in 2010 to 130 tons per hour in 2016.

Figure 4: Berth Productivity at the Tema Port (2010 – 2016)

Source: Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority

Other indicators that reflect productivity at the berth have also improved considerably. Tons worked per gang hour have increased by 7.5 per cent[12] between 2012 and 2016. Though the consistency is laudable, there is still a lot of room for improvement especially given that the STT is still high. Even though data on berth productivity for Kenya’s Mombasa port could not be obtained, the decline and relatively low STT is a good indication of high berth productivity.

Cargo Dwell Time

A World Bank report[13] in 2012 indicates a cargo dwell time of 20 days for the Tema port compared to 3.9 days in South Africa (Durban) and 7.1 days in in Kenya (Mombasa) over the same period. Cargo dwell time is simply the time cargo (containers) spends within the port. High cargo dwell times have serious time and cost implications on the inventory of businesses. Several reasons have been given as to why the incidence of dwell times in Sub Saharan Africa is high. The study in 2012 finds that the usual assumption that the private sector is interested in reducing cargo dwell time is mostly not the case in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Poor handling and operational dwell time generally account for just about 2 days out of at least 15 days of dwell time on average[14]. Most delays are due to transaction and storage time. According to the report, importers within Sub-Saharan Africa have very strong incentives to use the port as a storage area. For example, at the Douala port, it is cheaper to store your cargo in the port for up to 22 days (11 days beyond the terminals free time). A similar situation exists at the Tema port. Assuming a 30-day month, it will cost an importer GHS 780.00 to store a stuffed container within the Tema port for one month beyond the 7 days free storage time. This amount is 120 per cent lower than the $ 400 (equivalent to GHS 1720.00) charged by warehouse operators.

The activities of these importers – no matter how small – have an effect on the overall dwell time of the port. The high dwell time in turn hurts the competitiveness of the port. Custom authorities on the other hand may be less committed to reducing dwell times at the port as the cost is easily shifted to the importer and eventually the consumer in the form of demurrage. This can lead to somewhat needless port expansion.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Attaining a competitive port system seems high on the agenda of most governments in Ghana. The erstwhile Mahama administration signed a contract to expand the Tema port with the intention of making the port more competitive. Ghana’s current Vice President recently announced three (3) major policies to enhance ports’ competitiveness: mandatory joint inspection at the ports, a 100 per cent paperless system and removal of all internal custom barriers on the Ghana trade corridor. However, to achieve the goal of an efficient and a highly competitive port, especially with the pro-business stance of the current government, a lot more needs to be done. Here are a few recommendations.

1. Strengthen accountability by publishing information on efficiency indicators (such as those discussed above). An online performance monitoring tool will increase stakeholder engagement. By engaging more stakeholders in the conversation, problem areas can easily be identified and more viable and sustainable solutions can be found.
2. Cargos that have met all the items on the check list for clearing should not be allowed to stay within the ports. Defaulters must be charged higher penalties to discourage such practices.
3. The port authorities must seriously consider changing the berthing strategy to a more efficient one (like the fixed berthing window). Any identified challenges must be quickly addressed to meet this objective.
4. Regular expansion and upgrade of existing infrastructure will also be necessary to prevent breakdowns. This will help increase berth productivity and the ship turnaround time.

IMANI is grateful to senior staff of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority for their cooperation in writing this report. Government should ensure our Ports are efficient and profitable.

–

Source: IMANI

The post IMANI’s ‘Efficiency’ report on operations at Ghana’s Tema Sea Port appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.