The Interim National Executive Committee (INEC) of the Customs Brokers Association of Ghana (CUBAG) has been sworn into for what is expected to be a new dawn for the Association.

CUBAG, is one of four recognizable associations of the freight forwarding fraternity in Ghana whose members have been engaged in customs brokerage in and out of the ports of Ghana for nearly 3 decades.

The inaugural ceremony brought together members of sister-associations such as the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders Association (GIFF), Freight Forwarders Association of Ghana (FFAG), and the Association of Customs House Agents of Ghana (ACHAG).

Government institutions such as the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority and the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, among other key stakeholders also delivered some words of solidarity.

Alex Asiamah, the Tema Chairman of GIFF said, “continue to fight for the right thing and let your procedures and structures work and with that you will achieve success.”

Sampson Asaki, the Executive Secretary for the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana added, “We pray that this group of national executives will forcefully come out to join us whenever we find ourselves to advocate for the ones who put food on our tables.”

The Senior Marketing and Corporate Affairs Officer at the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Kennedy Mornah also urged the Association “to improve in ensuring that recalcitrant members who would drag your name and reputation in the mud are not entertained.”

The Chairman of the occasion, who is also President of Association of Customs House Agents, Ghana, Yaw Kyei called for the unified support of the freight forwarding fraternity towards promoting sound practices in the Freight Forwarding sector and the Maritime industry as a whole.

He said, “despite our differences, and our various leadership, we have formed the Committee of Freight Forwarder Associations and we come together to discuss and go out to defend or destroy policies.”

The new Interim Chairman of CUBAG, Nana Fredua Agyemang Ofori-Atta pledged to serve diligently towards the needed transformation and excellence.

The Acting Director in Charge of the Western Corridor, at the Ghana Standards Authority, Jessica Nkansah has revealed that standards have been harmonized across the African continent in the wake of the implementation of AfCFTA in order to facilitate trade among party states.

Jessica Nkansah, who is also the Head of the Competent Authority for Fish and Fishery Products at the Ghana Standards Authority said this during an interaction with the general public on the Eye on Port program.

She revealed that some product lines that hitherto did not have existing standards in party states before the coming into operation of the free trade agreement, had to adopt international standards which would be accepted and harmonized at the African regional level as well as the sub regional level.

Mrs. Nkansah added, “It doesn’t end there. The countries themselves are supposed to take ownership of the standards. Assuming we adopt a standard which speaks on hygiene. For example, there should be provision of warm water for hand washing. It may be because this standard originated from South Africa which has a cold climate. When it comes to the West African sub region we may change it to water should be available. It gives the same interpretation of that requirement.”

She added that, “under certain conditions a country can say that the general requirement does not work for us. But that will only happen when that country has proof that what has been specified will not work for them. Maybe we have adopted the regional standard for soft drinks. Assuming Ghana says that child diabetes has gone up, so they want a different standard for the sugar level, they would have to justify it by data and even publish it.”

The Acting Director in Charge of the Western Corridor, at the Ghana Standards Authority said it is important for such thorough mechanisms so that countries do not unnecessarily create technical barriers to trade by being over-protectionist.

Contributing to the discussion, the Head of the Centre for Import and Export Control at the Food and Drugs Authority Mr. Emmanuel Yaw Kwarteng disclosed that with the advent of AfCFTA, the FDA has deliberately made internal organizational adjustments.

He said the FDA has ensured that efficient risk assessment methods have been adopted so that trade is well-facilitated considering the large volumes expected under the AfCFTA.

Mr. Kwarteng revealed that the FDA has had several meetings with stakeholders and manufacturers to orient them towards implementation of the AfCFTA. This adds to the initiative to have cost of registration reduced dramatically with some products seeing up to 80% reduction.

“Paracetamol was USD 3,600. Now it is USD 700. For Food it used to be GHC 1800, now it is GHC450,” he said.

He also explained that while the FDA maintains a thorough approach to the necessary checks and assessment, the time limit for registration has also been reduced significantly.

“If you consider United States of America, registration of a single drug can take a year, but in Ghana, now it takes about 6 months. Some food products can even take a week,” Mr. Kwarteng added.

However, he advised that manufacturers and importers would do themselves a big service if they begin registration processes very early prior to the importation of FDA regulated products into Ghana.

Two of Ghana’s key statutory agencies, the Food and Drugs Authority of Ghana and Ghana Standards Authority have intimated that deliberate interventions made in their service provision are geared towards promoting traders’ ease of doing business while performing their core mandate of regulating trade through monitoring and standardization.

Speaking on Eye on Port, the Head of the Centre for Import and Export Control at the Food and Drugs Authority, Emmanuel Yaw Kwarteng revealed that cost of registration at the FDA has been reduced drastically with some products seeing up to 80% reduction.

He also explained that while the FDA maintains a thorough approach to the necessary checks and assessment, the time limit for registration has also been reduced significantly.

“If you consider United States of America, registration of a single drug can take a year, but in Ghana, now it takes about 6 months. Some food products can even take a week,” Mr. Kwarteng added.

However, the Head of the Centre for Import and Export Control at FDA advised that manufacturers and importers would do themselves a big service if they begin registration processes very early prior to the importation of FDA regulated products into Ghana.

Mr. Kwarteng also disclosed that at the Ports of Ghana, the FDA has been able to further integrate its systems with the customs risk engine in order to facilitate trade.

“FDA has 13 categories of points inputted in the risk system based on the product type. For example, biscuits have been identified to be as less risky unlike dairy and frozen products which are easily contaminated. So we attend to them differently so that FDA can quickly have products regulated at the port,” the FDA official elaborated.

He explained that these and other internal arrangements that have been introduced are also oriented towards positioning Ghanaian businesses for trading in the AfCFTA.

Also speaking on the same program, the Acting Director in Charge of the Western Corridor, and Head of the Competent Authority for Fish and Fishery Products at the GSA, Jessica Nkansah revealed that digitization introduced to importer registration process has saved time and cost for the trading public.

She said, “Importers used to lose a lot of money. They did not know that it is a requirement for them to register products and it is when the goods have arrived at the port that they want to register. When it was manual, it took some time, and demurrage will start accruing and they got very frustrated. Now the importer registration is seamless.”

Mrs. Jessica Nkansah also said one of the newer service deliveries is the premises inspection which has come to ease the burden on the trading public.

“If GSA is unable to finish the conformity assessment procedure within 48hrs, then they may consider a provisional release of the product into an identified warehouse on the condition that those goods will not be allowed unto the market until the results of the test come out.”

According to her, import certification as known as EasyPass has also been made efficient and less burdensome for clients.

The GSA Acting Director for Western Corridor said, “this time, inspection, sampling and testing is done at the country of export so by the time they get here, they have a certificate of conformity from an identified third party inspection body. For now, we are partnering with Bureau Veritas and Intertek.”

She said despite all these interventions, the Ghana Standards Authority is committed to taking on industry inputs on positive ways to improve doing business.

This includes working towards having a hotline that would attend to traders’ frustrations in real time, all in an effort to better facilitate trade.

The Head of the Centre for Import and Export Control of the Food and Drugs Authority, Emmanuel Yaw Kwarteng emphasized the need for increased compliance to registration regulations in Ghana.

While lamenting some recent happening of rejected Ghanaian palm oil in the United Kingdom, Mr. Kwarteng said, “Ghana has made a lot of effort to make the local palm oil industry going. We have reached a pivotal point and we do not want to sit down to watch a few people destroy it.”

Mrs. Jessica Nkansah on the other hand said, this would not only help protect the local market but, will help Ghanaian traders meet the requirement to trade within the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The representatives of the statutory agencies said the interventions to reduce cost and burden on traders make it more imperative for them to comply with regulations.

The Food and Drugs Authority and the Ghana Standards Authority have expressed their resolve in ensuring that unwholesome food and food products are neither consumed nor transported in and out of the country.

Officials from the Food and Drug Authority and the Ghana Standards Authority have indicated that they are on top of the task with respect to mitigating any threats to public health while managing the issue of the several fishes that washed ashore some coastal areas in Ghana.

Addressing the unfortunate incident on aquatic life, live on the Eye on Port program, the Head of Centre for Import and Export Control at the FDA, Emmanuel Yaw Kwarteng revealed that the necessary samples have been taken from the various species which include dolphins for analysis to ascertain cause of death.

Mr. Emmanuel Kwarteng said the cause of death is crucial so as to decipher the level of threat to human life. He said, “it is for this reason we advise the public not to consume them. Because if the test turns out to be injurious or containing any poisonous substances, human lives may be at risk.”

Taking her turn on the subject, the Acting Director in Charge of the Western Corridor, and Head of the Competent Authority for Fish and Fishery Products at the GSA, Jessica Nkansah said the Standards Authority in performance of its mandate of ensuring that fish exported out of the country meets the standard requirements, has also been represented in the dead fish incident.

She said “together with the FDA, we had to weigh in the possibilities. We are running test against the unknown. So we were brainstorming what kind of chemicals should be used as the standard to test the fish as well as the possible contaminants such as hydrocarbons. So we are running these tests.”

The Head of the Competent Authority for Fish and Fishery Products at the GSA said they have been collaborating with the FDA and Fisheries Commission to conduct organoleptic tests that deal with the senses, such as the texture and smell to meet the requirements of fresh fish.

Mrs. Nkansah explained such fish when allowed onto the market unregulated could end up being used as cheap raw material for some processed food for export, hence, in efforts to avoid such occurrences, the GSA has beefed up its market surveillance.

“When we go out for inspections, we also look out for the possibility that these fishes that were washed ashore could be present,” she disclosed.

The Food and Drugs Authority official revealed that information has been gathered that point to indigenes in the coastal areas of the incident, keeping fish, awaiting results from the tests being done by the relevant agencies to declare the fish unpoisoned.

Yet, Mr. Kwarteng urged Ghanaians to desist from consumption of these fishes regardless of test results as the fish may go bad by then.

The FDA official advised Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of patronizing and eating fresh fish only.

He warned, “Rotten fish can be very dangerous and lead to food poisoning in various forms. Fresh fish has a peculiar feel. If you see fish that has wrinkled skin, eyes not shinny and popping, stay away from that, it means it is going bad.”

An Italian warship, Luigi Rizzo with a crew soldiers of about 187, has berthed at the Tema Port to engage the Ghana Navy in a collaborative exercise aimed at curbing the growing activities of pirates off the Gulf of Guinea.

According to statistics, piracy off the Gulf of Guinea, shot up to over 200 cases in 2020, with most of these cases being kidnapping and demand for ransom, making the area a haven for pirates.

In view of this, the Italian Navy which has been patrolling and surveilling both the Gulf of Guinea and other waters for months now, have arrived in Ghana, to train personnel of the Ghana Navy in a collaborative effort to curb the growing piracy menace.

The Luigi Rizzo warship with some 187 crew members, will train their Ghanaian counterparts in a midnight drill on the seas, to impart on them, modernized patrolling and surveillance methods used in combating piracy.

Commander Dario Castelli is the commanding officer of the Luigi Rizzo warship.

According to him, there is the need for such a collaboration between Ghana and other African counterparts in this training and mission, which will send a strong signal to the pirates, about their preparedness to combat them.

The Luigi Rizzo warship which has been offering monitoring and surveillance on the Gulf of Guinea for some months now is expected to return to Italy in May after the joint operations.

The Italian Frigate is also expected to hit the gulf in October to undertake similar monitoring and surveillance exercise.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Exports Promotion Authority, Dr. Afua Asabea Asare has described the 18% intra-African trade of Ghana’s total exports as woefully inadequate.

According to the CEO of GEPA, who was speaking at the Graphic Business & Stanbic Bank Breakfast Meeting in Accra, cross-sector initiatives that are currently ongoing will ensure that Ghana’s activity with respect to trading with other African countries sees tremendous improvement.

Dr. Afua Asare said regional roadshows throughout the 16 regions of the country has been embarked on to sensitize stakeholders on the National Export Development Strategy (NEDS).

She said the comprehensive document has relevant inputs from government, private sector, academia, civil society and the media, adding that when fully followed through with, it will catapult the Ghanaian exporting industry to success.

The CEO of GEPA said, “within the National Exports Development Strategy, is a portion dedicated to a list of interventions on how together as a nation, we can effectively position Ghanaian export goods and services in the African Continental Free Trade Area.”

She added that it is also imperative to augment the capacity of women traders in the country who represent 65% of the SME space, as it is a sure way of positioning the country for success in intra-African trade.

Government has indicated its resolve to embark on initiatives towards improving trade financing and access to credit for the Ghanaian business community. The aim is to boost the nation’s capacity for large scale trading in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

In a speech delivered on his behalf at the Graphic Business & Stanbic Bank Breakfast Meeting in Accra Tuesday, March 30, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyeremanteng said this would bolster existing efforts introduced and aimed at supporting the Ghanaian business community with improved means of finance and reduction in the cost of credit.

Patrick Yaw Nimo, Chief Director of the Ministry said, “the Ministry of Trade will collaborate with banks and other financial institutions to establish special financing windows for products of strategic sectors and special programs such as the 1D1F initiative and the Strategic Industries Initiative.”

The Minister of Trade and Industry also said it would position local industries to regional credit lines such as the proposed Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) by Afri-Exim Bank and the African Trade Insurance which would provide export credit insurance and guarantees for businesses in Africa under the AfCFTA.

He also revealed that in order to provide adequate fiscal incentives for trading in the AfCFTA, government has since 2017 removed and reduced a number of taxes such as the waiver of import duties for imported plants and equipment, machinery and raw materials for 1D1F companies and companies operating under the Ghana Automotive Manufacturing Development Program.

The Minister disclosed that other significant incentives are bound to be introduced.

He said Ghana as a country needs to address the weak institutional capacity which is crucial to enhance operators in the informal sector to harness the experience and know-how to meet requirements for successful exports.

“Projects such as the Trade Related Assistance and Quality enabling program has contributed significantly to retooling of laboratories and conformity assessment bodies and regulatory agencies such as the Ghana Standards Authority, the Food and Drugs Authority, the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Authority.”

Alan Kyeremanteng also said under the National Action Plan, the government was seeking to bridge the information gap by providing easily accessible and timely information necessary for businesses to take full advantage of the opportunities under AfCFTA.

The Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority, Michael Luguje has revealed that collaborative efforts are ongoing between his outfit, the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, to ensure that cargoes enlisted under the uncleared cargo list (UCL) are auctioned quickly after they elapse the 60days deadline.

Speaking at the 4th Economic Dialogue Series organized by Media General, he said this will not only to decongest the port space but will also ensure that state revenue is quickly retained.

He explained that the unusual delays that characterized auctioning have its repercussions in terms of cost to the state, terminal operators and shipping lines.

Michael Luguje, who is the President of the Ports Management Association of West and Central Africa, explained that this has made shipping lines factor in more risk when using Ghanaian ports.

“Shipping Lines have complained that it is making Ghana’s market riskier. So when you are bringing your container load of cargo into Ghana, they factor in the risk of that container sitting for months and even years. They factor all that in the freight that they charge Ghanaian importers,” the GPHA boss elaborated.

He also lamented that some of these goods are perishable and delays in auctioning could lead to them going bad, leading to waste.

He added that cost also incurred during destroying of perished cargoes should be avoided.

The Director General also acknowledged the significant success of the Paperless port systems at the country’s ports which has been further streamlined by the introduction of the Integrated Customs Management System.

Michael Luguje revealed that GPHA is collaborating with key institutions such as the Ghana Maritime Authority, Ghana Navy, and National Security, to ensure that Ghana’s maritime security is augmented in the wake of piracy threats in the Gulf of Guinea.

“Unfortunately for us we are neighbors to Nigeria where the maritime waters are very risky and getting a lot of spill over into Benin and Togo, so we are collaborating very strongly to ensure that as much as possible there is a push back,” he explained.

While lamenting the incessant rise of piracy in and around Nigerian territorial waters, he revealed that vessels bound for Nigeria sometimes find solace in Ghana’s port anchorage, due to the security offered there.

Ghana’s ports saw a steady increase in its transit traffic of 1.5 million metric tons last year, compared to 1.3 million metric tons in 2019 while seeing a significant increase in its transshipment traffic of 602,778 metric tons in 2020 compared to 90,158 metric tons in 2019 in spite of COVID-19.

These figures are further supported by the fact that 229,650 metric tons of Ghana’s port transit traffic were from coastal countries with ports.

According to the General Manager in charge of Marketing and Corporate Affairs at the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Mrs. Esther Gyebi-Donkor, this is indicative of the strides Ghana’s ports have made towards becoming the preferred trade and logistics hub in the sub region.

“Out of the figures from the coastal countries, I can tell you for a fact that Abidjan is the highest in there whereas we have people coming from Lomé and a few from Benin. This should tell you that there is something special about Ghanaian ports,” she expressed.

The General Manager in Charge of Marketing and Corporate Affairs at GPHA said the MPS Terminal 3 at the Port of Tema, which currently has 3 out of 4 berths completed, boasts of adequate infrastructure consisting of 16m draft and 1400m quay length making it possible to cater for the largest vessels carrying up to 20,000+TEUS.

She said this investment is further consolidated by the availability of modern equipment such as 7 Super Post Panamax Ship to Shore Gantry Cranes, and 20 Rubber Tyre Gantry Cranes, making it capable of handling 2,000,000 TEUs per year.

Mrs. Gyebi-Donkor said the availability of infrastructure, strategic geographic location, flexible port charges, top notch security, labor efficiency and deliberate policy direction makes the Ports of Ghana attractive to its clients which include the local Ghanaian trading public, economic operators from the landlocked Sahelian countries, and even some importers and exporters from other coastal countries.

She said the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority has been deliberate in the pursuance of customer oriented policies and activities that woo the international trading community to use its ports.

“Our charges are preferably cheaper and the other incentives we give to them like the warehousing facilities. We have special arrangements where those who bring in huge volumes of transit cargo, are given 60 days instead of the usual 21 days to get their cargo out of the Port” Mrs. Gyebi-Donkor elaborated.

She also revealed that receipt and delivery charges at Ghana’s ports have been deliberately made cheaper in order to bring relief to the local trading community.

In responding to how she would rate the Ghanaian ports as far as efficiency in cargo clearance is concerned, Mrs. Gyebi-Donkor answered by saying that remarkable successes have been Chalked.

She intimated that the implementation of the Single Window is a sure way to achieve efficiency.

“The Ghanaian Ports were a bit late in fully implementing the Single Window System since Cotonou and Lome for example took the lead but the gains made by Ghana in the short period is commendable. has made our Ports efficient”.

She highlighted the significant gains made from automation in the ports, such as the Paperless Port Clearance Processes and the implementation of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) which has not only streamlined the activities of statutory agencies operating in the clearance chain, but has impacted the cost of doing business at the ports considerably.

According to her, the process has increased automation at the Ports and optimized business process to the benefit of customers. Processing time has also been reduced significantly.

Customers cost in accessing invoices, paying and taking delivery has been reduced due to the ease of accessing GPHA’s services and charges.

Also, falsification of documents has reduced through system integrations with other stakeholders resulting in increase in revenue.

Mrs. Esther Gyebi-Donkor also underscored the contributions made by the Vibrant Freight Forwarding Fraternity that operates in the Port.

She indicated that GIFF and ACHAG has been doing well by giving feedback on the Port Clearance System.

They make constructive criticism and propose solutions for improvement. Mrs. Gyebi-Donkor emphasized that all the above have made the Ghanaian Ports more efficient.

She revealed that the paperless port project in particular coupled with the general performance of the Port of Tema has led to GPHA consistently chalking many peer review awards over recent years.

Mrs. Gyebi-Donkor disclosed, “we have been best in container terminal productivity since 2016, 2017 and 2018.”

The General Manager in Charge of Marketing and Corporate Affairs at the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority said GPHA has also deployed a platform for e-payments for clients to improve ease in doing business at the ports.

The Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority has created an e-payment platform where clients of the port can do transactions via mobile money, Visa and MasterCard as part of efforts to increase automation and make doing business at Ghana’s port easier, faster and more secure.

The General Manager in Charge of Marketing and Corporate Affairs at the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Mrs. Esther Gyebi-Donkor who made this revelation during a live interaction with the public on the Eye on Port Program, said this has been piloted on some port clients and will be rolled out soon.

According to her, this initiative is further enhanced by “the creation of a mobile app where clients of the port can validate invoices as well as calculate port charges.” Mrs. Esther Gyebi-Donkor said the Port Authority prides itself in customer satisfaction and always seeks to find improved ways of making doing business at the ports more convenient for clients.

In responding to how she would rate the Ghanaian ports as far as efficiency in cargo clearance is concerned, Mrs. Gyebi-Donkor answered by saying that remarkable successes have been chalked.

She intimated that the implementation of the Single Window is a sure way to achieve efficiency.

“The Ghanaian Ports were a bit late in fully implementing the Single Window System since Cotonou and Lome for example took the lead, but the gains made by Ghana in the short period is commendable. It has made our Ports efficient”.

She highlighted the significant gains made from automation in the ports, such as the Paperless Port Clearance Processes and the implementation of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS), which has not only streamlined the activities of statutory agencies operating in the clearance chain, but has impacted the cost of doing business at the ports considerably.

According to her, the process has increased automation at the Ports and optimized business processes to the benefit of customers.

Processing time has also been reduced significantly. Customers cost in accessing invoices, paying and taking delivery has been reduced due to the ease of accessing GPHA’s services and charges.

Also, falsification of documents has reduced through system integrations with other stakeholders resulting in increase in revenue.

Mrs. Esther Gyebi-Donkor also underscored the contributions made by the Vibrant Freight Forwarding Fraternity that operates in the Port.

She indicated that GIFF and ACHAG have been doing well by giving feedback on the Port Clearance System. They make constructive criticism and propose solutions for improvement.

Mrs. Gyebi-Donkor emphasized that all the above have made the Ghanaian Ports more efficient.

She revealed that the paperless port project in particular, coupled with availability of modern infrastructure, equipment and the general performance of the Port of Tema has led to GPHA consistently chalking many peer review awards over the years.

“We have been best in container terminal productivity since in 2016, 2017 and 2018.” Mrs. Gyebi-Donkor averred.

The GPHA Management staff also revealed that receipt and delivery charges at Ghana’s ports have deliberately been made cheaper in order to bring relief to the local trading community.

She said the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority has been deliberate in the pursuance of customer oriented policies and activities that woo the international trading community to use its ports.

“Our charges are preferably cheaper and the other incentives we give to them like the warehousing facilities. We have special arrangements where those who bring in huge volumes of transit cargo, are given them 60 days instead of the usual 21 days to get the cargo cleared from the Port,” Mrs. Gyebi-Donkor elaborated.