The head of Veterinary Regulatory Division at the Port of Tema, Dr. Stephen Bonnah is calling for the veterinary services to be brought back onto the Joint Inspection Management Information System Platform (JIMIS).

This according to him, will enable the veterinary services perform its mandate of examining animal products that come into the country effectively.

Currently, the JIMIS platform is made up of the Customs division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana Standards Authority and the National Security.

Even though the FDA is playing a lead role in the examination of animal products on the platform, Dr. Bonnah believes that is not enough because the veterinary services per international practices need to examine all animal products that come into the country. 

Speaking live on Eye on Port’s interactive programme, Dr. Bonnah said it will be easier for the veterinary services to share alerts on the platform with other state agencies if they are brought back on the platform.

Dr. Bonnah said even though it falls within the mandate of the veterinary services to examine animal products that come through the Port, in the case of three containers containing infested gizzards which were cleared out of Port of Tema, his outfit couldn’t discharge its mandate because they are not part of the joint inspection management information system which allowed for the release of the containers.

He said they were also not invited by FDA to examine the cargo.

“The veterinary services were not part of all the examination of the gizzard. The items were supposed to be released on JIMIS and the veterinary services are not part of this platform,” he revealed.

But speaking on the same programme, the head of Import and Export Control Department at the FDA admitted that his outfit has not been inviting the Veterinary Services since the introduction of the JIMIS platform.

He said they only take food products for scientific analysis only when they have doubts about their unwholesomeness. 

“When you still have doubt about an inspection then you can invite the other agencies that is imbedded on the JIMIS platform or else we do the same thing as the other agencies do,” he disclosed.

The Chief Revenue Officer in charge of Customs Laboratory at Tema Port, Joseph Eric Owusu said if the Veterinary services is placed back on the JIMIS to collaborate with the FDA it will go a long way to ensure optimum efficiency.

“The absence of the veterinary services I can see has created some level of pains in the vet, so if they are to be restored to get them effectively collaborate with FDA that will be it,” he said.

It will be recalled that three out of four containers containing infested gizzards where cleared out of the port of Tema and sold to the public at various markets.