The Assistant Commissioner in Charge of the Tema Collection of Customs, Joseph Adu-Kyei, has revealed that a lot of cargoes remain uncleared at the Port of Tema prior to the 2020 general elections.

He said even though this checks at the Port reveal that containers are coming into the country, importers have failed to come and clear them.

“Checking from MPS, even though containers are coming people are not clearing, all because of uncertainties around the elections,” he said.

The AC also revealed some significant decline over the course of the year which he attributed to the effects of coronavirus as well as the challenges that emerged from the introduction of a new Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS).

According to him, the month of June represented the worse performing revenue month in the year 2020 due to the fact that traders were not well adjusted to the ICUMS.

“The system was new and people did not adjust well so there were challenges,” he said.

He forecasted that post-elections, the frequency in clearance will bounce back as it is the common practice during the pre-Christmas peak period, and his outfit expects to rake in a lot of revenue for government during this period.

“December is the time we rake in more revenue for the state. So after 7th December we hope that the businesses men will now come forward to do their business,” he stated.

Touching on the law of the ban on the importation of salvaged vehicles, the Tema Sector Commander confirmed that the ban remains suspended so importers may continue to bring in such vehicles.

“Nobody has stopped the importation of salvage cars so importer can still bring them and clear,” he said.

He, however, lamented the many wrecked imported vehicles abandoned at the Port which is not good for the country.

BYTE Joseph Adu Kyei also revealed many ongoing customs initiatives that are intended to make doing business at the ports of Ghana easier, like increasing digitization and the coming aboard of multiple banks for the payment of duties.

“You will be surprised to go to the car park and see some conditions of the vehicles which the owners have abandoned after receiving the tax bill.

There are a lot of salvaged vehicles which cannot be redeemed” he averred.

Overall, the panelists lauded the government, citizenry and various political parties for instilling confidence in them over the years during the electoral season which has not had any dire effects on trading in Ghana.