Burkina to build warehouse for transit cargo

The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has leased two plots of lands to the Burkina Faso Chamber of Commerce (BFCC) to build a warehouse for its transit cargo at the Tema port.

Under the bilateral agreement BFCC would pay 10,000 dollars per annum for the land, Mr Nestor Galley, out-going Director of Tema Port, announced on Friday when a 20-member delegation from the Chamber paid a day's working visit to the port.

The delegation, led by Mr Ouangrawa Johanny, Advisor to the Minister of Regional Integration, was made up of customs officials, shippers, businessmen and officials of the Ministry of Roads and Tourism.

The visit afforded them the opportunity to learn at first hand all the facilities available at their disposal for them to work with. Currently, cargoes meant for Burkina Faso are kept in a transit shed established for all land locked countries at the port.

Mr Galley said GPHA had opened up facilities at the port for transit cargoes and impressed on the delegates and land locked neighbouring countries to take advantage of the improved facilities to trade through the port. He said security had been improved by instituting stringent measures to eliminate negative practices at the Port.

He said security is the prime concern of the authorities at the Port, as they have installed close circuit televisions and alarm sirens at the perimeter areas while security personnel are well equipped with the modern communication gadgets to be alert so that the port is not overtaken by events.

Answering questions, Mr Galley stated categorically that the port is a state owned organisation except that 70 per cent of the stevedoring has been privatised, with the GPHA handling the 30 per cent, which would also go private in due course, however maintenance of the port remained the responsibility of the GPHA.

The GPHA plays a major role in the country's economic development as it generates revenue for the state. In 2001 it raked in revenue of 40 million dollars. It paid 10 billion cedis as dividend and two billion cedis as corporate tax to the government and spent 11 billion cedis on the rehabilitation of the Takoradi Port.

Mr Adjavor Bonaventure, representative from the Ministry of Economic Planning and Regional Integration, said Ghana was taking measures to improve trade links with her neighbours. This falls in line with the ECOWAS protocol, which requires the need for collaboration of all member states.

To this end as part of the measures to remove bottlenecks that hinder trade facilitation, there has been a proposed establishment of community school at the border towns to enable the front line communities to scale the language barrier.

Mr Bonaventure said a technical committee was being put in place to discuss the use of document to accompany cargo instead of escorts that accompany vehicle until they left the Ghanaian territory and the introduction of a common identification cards instead of the use of passports.

Mr Johanny expressed satisfaction about the existing facilities at the port and measures put in place so far to strengthen the trade relations with neighbouring countries, saying he would report the situation on the ground to his superiors to strengthen business transactions through Ghana.