IEAG raises concerns over foreigners clearing goods at Ghana’s Ports
Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG), Samson Awingobit, has advised freight forwarders against giving their letterheads and permission to foreigners to clear goods at the country’s ports.
According to him, these actions by freight forwarders and other members of the trading community have led to the influx of foreigners taking over jobs from Ghanaians at the Ports.
“Today we have the Lebanese and Chinese clearing goods at the ports and it shouldn’t be so, when you go to Togo or Nigeria, it is a Nigerian or a Togolese that goes to clear the goods for you and not yourself,” he remarked speaking during the third annual general meeting of the Association of Customs House Agents Ghana (ACHAG).
Speaking further, he noted that, freight forwarders should not be happy with subscription fees they get from the Chinese and Lebanese companies who use their respective letterheads to clear goods at the ports, as it is to their disadvantage seeing that these foreigners are the ones making more economic gain from the clearance of goods at the ports.
Meanwhile, the Association of Customs House Agents Ghana (ACHAG) has indicated that the high cost of doing business at Ghana’s ports and borders is a major source of worry to the industry players.
ACHAG questioned the presence of what they termed as some nuisance taxes at the ports and called on the government to eliminate them.
For example, they questioned why the government was holding on to the COVID-19 health recovery levy and Ministry of Health Disinfection Fee as well as the Network Charge of 0.04 percent on free on board (FOB) and its related VAT charges.
The outgoing president of ACHAG, Yaw Kyei who stated this on Friday, February 9, 2024, during the third annual general meeting of ACHAG held in Tema also bemoaned the illegitimate and indiscriminate charges by some service providers, cumbersome clearance procedures, and delays in the processing of cargo documents, among others, they say contributes to the high cost of doing business at the ports.
