Akufo-Addo commends Port Authority for effective paperless operations

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has commended the Port authority for effective supervision of port projects and smooth paperless operations.

According to the President, the management of the Port Authority has impressed him with his supervision on the paperless project implementation and his commitment to safeguard national revenue.

“I have visited the Tema Port to inspect the activities that are undertaken over there and I must say, the implementations that have been put in place for transformation are really working well. I was also at the Customs Long Room to check on the paperless processes and it is really working and this has been attested to by stakeholders,” he said.

The President who was addressing a large crowd in the Tema Metropolis as part of his Greater Accra Regional tour also assured that he will support Ghana’s Port Authority to grow to provide jobs and rake revenue for the nation.

The President and his entourage then visited the Tema Port to inspect the ongoing Tema Port expansion site and also learn at first hand the state of the paperless port operations systems.

Here, the President and his entourage were briefed by Mohammad Samara, CEO of MPS on the progress of work regarding the $1.5billion Tema Port Expansion Project.

In his response, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo expressed his excitement over the level of developments going on in the Port particularly the expansion project.

He said it would be a milestone reached by Ghana, should the project be completed and serve its intended purpose.

“We are committed to very rapid development of our country especially its industrial and agricultural sector and if it’s going to make sense the infrastructure we need to support that development is very key and this is one of them. That we would have in our disposal in this country a first class port, more capable of receiving the biggest vessels in the world and allowing us to accelerate the pace of our development and our exchanges. It is an amazing intervention that collectively, yourself, your partners and GPHA are making on behalf of our country,” he highlighted.

He praised Ghana’s Ports for being proactive in staying above the competition in the sub-region.

“Some of our neighbours are also undertaking important port developments in Cote D’Ivoire. I’ve been told there’s some major port development that has taken place in Lome, which I have actually seen myself. But, I’m not sure any of them have been any more advanced today like what I am seeing here,” he said.

President Nana Addo and his entourage also called on the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Tema sector where he was received by the Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Kofi Nti, Director General of GPHA, Paul Asare Ansah, Commissioner of Customs, Isaac Crentsil, Director of Tema Port, Edward Osei, managers of the Port Authority and Officers of Customs.

The Commissioner General of GRA, Emmanuel Kofi Nti, in a speech, highlighted that although there have been challenges with regards to revenue mobilization, the GRA have emerged successful in their duties due to government reforms put in place.

“The Ghana Revenue Authority can confidently say that it is on course in its drive to achieve its revenue targets thanks to the introduction of the paperless initiatives of the government announced by His Excellency the Vice President in May 2017 to ensure trade facilitation and revenue maximization,” the Commissioner General reported.

The President expressed appreciation for the efforts exhibited by Customs to support the country’s growth through revenue mobilization.

“When we speak about wanting to build a Ghana beyond aid, what we are saying is we should become like all the progressive countries in the world, a country that depends on its own resources to buttress its own development,” Nana Addo averred.

The President also suggested that the already existing partnership between the government and the agencies at the country’s ports be made stronger to achieve desired national growth and development.