Eye on Port investigates missing cranes contained in 12 40ft containers

The Managing Director of Business Port Limited, Abdul Fatai Razak visited the offices of Eye on Port to lament the confiscation of his 12 x 40ft. containers containing 3sets of tower cranes.

According to him, the tower cranes were formally consigned to GKL limited by a supplier in China since November 2013.

He said GKL for some reasons failed to clear the consignment from the port.

Abdul Razak continued that he expressed interest in the consignment on his arrival in China and upon negotiations with the supplier, the items were re-consigned to him only to be faced with huge accumulated rent charges at the Tema Port.

He said while he made arrangements with his bankers to raise money to pay the necessary duties on the consignment, he picked up information that the customs division of the Ghana Revenue Authority had auctioned the items.

In his submission, Abdul Razak mentioned one Sadam at customs who he claimed was witness to all the happenings.

So Eye On Port contacted Martin Adjoke popularly referred to as Sadam of Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, who is currently in charge of auction.

He asserted that investigations he conducted revealed that the items were auctioned in 2014.

He said he advised Abdul Razak, that there was no way he could get the cranes back since the items had stayed in the Port for about one year before he begun attempts to clear the goods.

Abdul Razak had hinted that he believes even if the cranes had been auctioned, he is sure they were auctioned to the GKL Construction, the same companies which were the initial owners of the cranes and could not clear them before the goods went on Auction.

But Martin Adjoke denied the assertion that the same company that could not clear the cranes within the state allowed period of clearance, were allowed to clear the goods on auction base as it is being suggested by Abdul Razak. He again said that, contrary to claims by Abdul that the containers were in the port, the containers were cleared from the port in 2014 through auctioning.

Following investigations by Eye on Port, it emerged that an individual named Joe Alhassan who works with GKL Construction Company had emailed the Chinese Company who supplied the cranes requesting for a manual to arrange the cranes.

Eye on Port, therefore set off in search of the GKL office and the said Joe Alhasan to see if indeed they are in the position of the 3 set of cranes and whether someone indeed requested for manuals to arrange the cranes. Our GPS directed us to the Airport residential area and upon a few left and right turns, we arrived at GKL.

It is however important to note that, Ghana’s Revenue laws frowns on the fact that individuals, institutions and corporations avoid paying required duties and use crude means to pay less for what they are originally expected to pay.

It is for this reason that, the state agencies involved in revenue collection and trade facilitation are very much concern about this story to see how it ends.