Truckers reel under hindrances to trade

Truck drivers engaged in cross-border haulage are complaining that the axle-load requirement is only in place to give wealth to those manning the scales while the country’s roads continue to deteriorate, with heavy coiled iron being the only cargo left for Tema Port.

All other import and export cargo to and from the Sahel can now be found in the ports of Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast and Senegal.

The Chairman of the Ghana Truckers’ Association, Alhaji Salia Adams, made the disclosure at a Road Governance Road-show for Truck drivers and Transporters organised by Borderless Alliance, in collaboration with the Ghana Shippers’ Authority with support from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) last week.

Alhaji Adams said the unions and associations are only useful for registering trucks for easy identification when it comes to diversions by Customs.

He said the police are still harassing transit drivers who call to wake him up several times at night from bed to plead on their behalf, and this is predominantly between Techiman and Tamale.

He commended the great effort by Borderless and the West Africa Trade Hub over the years in bringing sanity on the roads by reducing the number of checkpoints considerably.

Alhaji Adams said only a few trucks are in the forest for cocoa evacuation as the majority are ‘prostituting’ for cargo in other ports spreading all the way to Chad, while the rest are in Tema fighting for parking space.

Ms. Tomomi Tokuri representing JICA noted that the Yokohama action Plan 0f 2013-2017 delivered in the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) emphasised the importance of enhancing regional integration in Africa through well-functioning trade and transport facilitation measures.

“It makes a common market of 50 million people who can attract external investment and become an engine of economic growth in sub-Sahara Africa.”

She outlined three key factors to facilitate regional integration and mentioned firstly the development of infrastructure such as ports, roads, bridges and railways; and secondly, the simplification and harmonisation of administrative procedures -- particularly in the area of Customs; and thirdly, the removal of trade barriers.

To this end, JICA has been providing technical and financial support to one of such activities -- being the one-stop border posts -- since 2004.

The road-show aimed at improving the business environment in Ghana and facilitating trade across the borders. Mr. Yaya Yedan, the Burkina Faso Shippers Council representative, said he travels a lot to his country and this year while travelling he counted 51 checkpoints -- of which eight belonged to the Customs Division of the GRA with the rest being for the Police Service.

Findings from recent surveys suggest bribery levels in the country remain modest, but the existence of checkpoints is still there -- especially from Kumasi to Paga, with the Customs Division receiving the highest amount of illicit payments.

Borderless Alliance is a regional alliance of private companies in West Africa with a keen interest in improving and facilitating regional trade.