Importers kick against unnecessary delays at Tema Port

Importers at the Tema Port, Ghana’s largest entry point from the sea are up in arms against the activities of the security agencies at the port which they say is unnecessarily delaying their turn-around time and increasing their costs.

They are particularly irked by the activities of a Presidential Task Force made up of a combined team of military, police and Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) officials who are duplicating the work of the security agencies inside the port, outside.

According to sources, they are usually stationed close to the toll booth at the beginning of the Tema Motorway and on the beach road and either sent to the CEPS head office in Accra or a bonded warehouse in Accra.

The importers say the activities of the taskforce has forced their colleagues from landlocked countries such as Mali and Niger, who used to use the Tema Port as an entry point for the transit of their goods, to shift their activities to ports in Togo and Cote d’Ivoire to avoid extra costs and delays.

The state has thus been deprived of this revenue stream, which used to make up a significant part of revenue generated at the port.

Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem morning show on Monday June 17, 2013, an importer who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, alleged that the taskforce members intercepted every consignment leaving the port and forced the importers to offload their goods for re-examination despite receiving the all-clear from the various agencies in the port.

“What is even more annoying is that the costs of loading and offloading, as well as the costs for the delay in delivery are borne by the importer. The Taskforce members just don’t care,” he said.

The importer claimed that even CEPS officers were frustrated with the activities of the task force, since their presence implicitly implied that they were not trustworthy.

A senior CEPS official, who corroborated this claim, said morale among the officers and men was at an all time low and they are constantly looking over their shoulders and while double and triple-checking their daily duties because the task force was raising doubts about their competence as trained agents of the state.

CEPS personnel and importers who spoke to this reporter also expressed grave concern about the loss of revenue through the shifting of business from Tema to neighbouring countries, saying it was having a direct impact on CEPS’ revenue target and government’s overall revenue projections.