Stakeholders must help deal with transit cargo diversion – GRA

The Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has called on stakeholders to help curb the diversion of transit cargoes as the practice leads to a loss in revenue to the country.

Fechin Akoto, the Acting Deputy Commissioner of the Suspense Regime, GRA-Customs Division, said it was the Division’s objective to ensure cargo diversions were rooted out completely.

At a stakeholder engagement in Tema on the securities of transit cargo, Mr Akoto said the clearing agents had agreed that there was no cargo diversion.

During the engagement, the stakeholders discussed the overloading and over-gauging of transit vehicles, shedding of overloaded transit vehicles resulting in malfeasance, and weight declaration on trucks by agents at transit terminals.

Other issues discussed were the containerisation of higher-risk goods, the monitoring of transit goods along the corridors to the exit points, and the introduction of SIGMAT (the ECOWAS Regional Network for Transit Trade) to strengthen transit goods.

The meeting also served as a platform to highlight the challenges of transistors of goods from the ports to their destination.

Mr David Songotu, the Transit Manager, Tema Port, called on stakeholders to collaborate to ensure that transit trade accrued the actual revenue needed for the country.

He added that many people worked in the transit trade; therefore, need to encourage its growth.

Mr Albert Annan, the Oti Regional Maintenance Manager, Ghana Highways Authority, cautioned transit truck drivers against overloading.

“When the trucks are not overloaded, all of us will be safe on our road; the more you overload, the more you reduce the lifespan of the road infrastructure, and the more we spend more money on maintenance.”

Emmanuel Kuagbelah, the Deputy Operations Manager at Ghana Link, said the engagement would facilitate the clearance of goods at the ports of Ghana.