Stakeholders review mid-year performance of transit trade

Stakeholders in the transit sector including Ghana Shippers’ Authority, Ghana Highways Authority, Niger Shippers’ Council, Mali Shippers’ Council, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA)-Customs Division, Burkina Shippers’ Council, Burkina Chamber of Commerce, National Security and the State Insurance Company have reviewed the performance of transit trade for the first half of 2020.

At a second quarter meeting of the Greater Accra Transit Shipper Committee held at the Ghana Shippers’ House issues such as the impact of COVID-19 on trade and concerns on challenges associated with the implementation of the newly introduced Integrated Customs Management Systems (ICUMS), among others were discussed by the stakeholders.

Challenges mentioned raised include, the return to the manual clearance of goods at the Ports, physical escorts of transit goods instead of tracking devices, and its attendant general delays leading to demurrage and rent charges.

A representative of the Mali Shippers’ Council appealed to the GSA to intervene on behalf of transit shippers whose goods have attracted demurrage and rent charges due to the inability of the new integrated customs management system to process declarations on time.

The Head of Freight and Logistics of the GSA, Fred Asiedu-Dartey assured the stakeholders of the Authority’s preparedness to raise their concerns with the relevant authorities for redress.

The Head of Inter-State Road Transit (ISRT) of the SIC, Anthony Osei Ntiamoah reported that 12,078 trucks carted transit cargo between January and March to Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Cote d'Ivoire, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria while the National Guarantor issued 8,672 transit bonds during the same period.

The Transit Shipper Committee was established by the GSA to address challenges faced by shippers along Ghana’s transit corridor and also deepen Ghana’s trading relationship with land-locked nations of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.