According to the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), it is still prepared to lower the cost of doing business at Ghana’s ports while guaranteeing an equitable and open regulatory environment for all participants in the shipping and logistics industry.
In an address given on his behalf by Mr. Fred Asiedu Dartey, Head of Freight and Logistics, during the Gold and Silver Category Shippers’ Committee Meeting at the Shippers’ House in Accra, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Prof. Ransford Gyampo provided the assurance. Speaking to the audience, Mr. Asiedu Dartey said that as GSA works to make Ghana’s ports more competitive, reducing unnecessary expenses in the cargo clearing process continues to be a top objective.
The briefing gave shippers an update on GSA’s implementation of the Container Administrative Charge (CAC), a levy that has sparked a lot of debate in the shipping industry in recent months.
Mrs. Rhodalyn Djanitey, a Principal Officer in GSA’s Freight and Logistics Department, led the discussion on the subject and clarified that the fee was first imposed several decades ago when shipping lines offered vital operational services that port authorities were unable to provide because of capacity constraints.
However, major improvements and expenditures at the ports of Takoradi and Tema have changed port operations over time, necessitating a reconsideration of the tariff and its applicability to the current realities.
In response, according to Mrs. Djanitey, GSA conducted comparative study on the current charge and, based on the empirical results, involved important industry players to evaluate the charge’s impact on trade and port competitiveness as well as its fairness.
A cap of GH¢720 per container
In order to maintain fairness throughout the shipping and logistics industry, GSA implemented a regulatory ceiling after the evaluation and kept the container-based price structure instead of switching to a Bill of Lading-based charge, as is the case in certain West African sub-region nations. To increase predictability and transparency, the cap was set at GH¢720 per container and expressed in Ghana Cedis.
It’s Now Time Ghana Taxed “Stupidities” — Saddick Adams
According to GSA estimates, the action could save shippers some GH¢802.5 million and create a more competitive business environment at Ghana’s ports, according to Mrs. Djanitey.
Participants sought clarification on a number of CAC-related topics during the interactive session that followed, including its legal foundation, the revised charge’s implementation schedule, the stakeholder consultations that preceded its implementation, and its expected impact on cargo clearance costs.
In response to the questions, GSA representatives provided more details about the intervention’s justification, the stakeholder engagement process that has been carried out thus far, and the future measures that are being contemplated while consultations are ongoing.
Participants recognized the Authority’s ongoing commitment to meaningful stakeholder engagement, and the event helped stakeholders understand the goals of the regulatory reforms being pursued by GSA.