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The Government announced its intention to implement the "First Port Rule" in Ghanaian ports by the end of the year to combat growing smuggling due to diverted goods supposedly destined landlocked countries. Customs officers from landlocked countries will be stationed in Ghana's ports and importers will be directed to the appropriate country office to pay the duties required if they are actually goods in transit.
The move has become necessary because studies have shown that many goods destined for transit to landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are either unloaded and sold in Ghana, or smuggled through routes. unauthorized, depriving Ghana and the intended final destination countries of the necessary rights. Announces Opening of the 39th Council and Conference of the Ports Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA)) "Best Practices in Port Management Was the theme chosen for this four-day event, which attracted chief executives and general managers of ports in the West and Central African region
. ] The PMAWCA is an interregional economic organization composed of Mauritania, Cape Verde, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. Angola, including landlocked countries. This conference will enable marine industry experts and stakeholders to discuss the challenges facing the sector, share ideas and advocate appropriate solutions, while responding to the changing dynamics of the sector.
Vice President Bawumia meeting demonstrated his commitment to improving port operations, not only in Ghana but in the sub-region in line with his vision of making the nation the destination of choice by doing the bus
"Transit traffic is very important in neighboring countries like Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Not only is Ghana losing, but other countries are also losing revenue when unapproved roads are used. " The Vice President expressed the government's commitment to improve its business practices, particularly in the area of port affairs, including trade relations with its landlocked neighbors to stimulate economic growth
. He said trade within the subregion would not develop if ECOWAS countries did not comply with trade rules and regulations. and, therefore, urged the ECOWAS countries to implement the Axle's road policy, which obliged all member countries to limit
He indicated that Ghana had implemented the policy since 2009, the date on which enforcement came into force, noting that the policy was aimed at protecting the subregion's road infrastructure against early deterioration.
Unfortunately, he said, not all ECOWAS member countries were following the policy, which undermined regional cooperation and created an atmosphere of unfairness in transit trade across the various corridors. the subregion. 19659002] Vice President Bawumia said that there is a huge potential in port operations that could spur economic growth in different countries and refers to some of Ghana's progress in port operations.
He noted that between 70 and 90 container movements by the hour had been recently recorded due to the improvement of the country's port infrastructure and equipment.
Dr. Bawumia cited the operation of the paperless port last year, the government had reduced the turnaround time, the cost of doing business and brought a certain level of efficiency in the ports while internal customs barriers had been removed to ensure the smooth operation and circulation of goods and services. Thanks to the paperless system, about 43% of importers are now able to clear their goods in 24 hours and about 70% in three days, "he added.
The government has also implemented further reforms to improve service delivery in ports, including reducing the number of regulatory agencies conducting joint inspections in ports from 16 to 3 and the Abolition of the customs clearance process.
"The operations of the customs offices in the famous" long room "were automated with the system to system integration, which prevented importers from waiting in long queues. waiting to see a compliance officer
"He also removed the authority of the customs officer to badess the duty on the basis of discretion," said Dr. Bawumia.
These political reforms, noted the vice president aimed at reducing the human element in port transactions. the customs clearance process, to provide automation and system integration of different strategic stakeholders, as well as reduce the stress of processing business transactions and secure the collection of domestic revenue. the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Port and Port Authority (GPHA) should be integrated.
This required the GPHA to have a terminal operating system that could interact with that of the customs system. for seamless and interoperable integration between the two institutions in order to prevent importers from evading payment of the required fees.
Vice President He acknowledged the port's enormous potential in strengthening the country's economy and promised to make intense efforts to improve performance in order to compete with the best of international trade .
He referred to the program of expansion of the ports of Takoradi and Tema. noting that, for example, the expansion of Tema Port would improve the throughput of containers from one million to 3.5 million annually.
The ongoing construction work of a multi-purpose container terminal in the port of Takoradi would treat one million flows against the current 60,000. The Minister of Transport, Mr. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, expressed his optimism that the recommendations of the meeting would help the countries of the subregion. region to deal decisively with maritime challenges.
Source: GNA
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