UNI-PASS deal: We don’t expect additional costs on businesses – GUTA

In the wake of the UNI-PASS brouhaha, the only concern of the Ghana Union Association of Traders (GUTA) is to continuously enjoy the 1% charges on goods they benefited when GCNet was in operation.

The president of the association, Dr. Joseph Obeng, in an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb stressed that the group hopes that controversies surrounding UNI-PASS do not cause delays in clearing their goods at the ports as well as not incur extra costs which would, in turn, affect the free flow of businesses in the country.

Speaking on the GCNet, UNI-PASS saga, Dr. Obeng stated that “We are in a transitional period…our problem comes when there is anything that will affect the trade facilitation. We are thinking about anything that will add up to cost, anything that will bring delay and anything that will bring unease of doing business.”

He advised that if there’s a problem with the UNI-PASS system, government should maintain the old system being handled by GCNet until UNI-PASS is finally strengthened to operate with full force.

Meanwhile, the association is currently monitoring the operation of UNI-PASS.

UNI-PASS is a new port clearing system that processes documents and payments digitally.

It was introduced by the government to replace the single window platform– Ghana Customs Management System (GCMS) from GCNet and West Blue Consult, at the ports.

The single window project is aimed at coordinating all activities at the ports on one platform to reduce time and cost in clearing and exporting goods.

UNIPASS deal is said to have been fraught with inefficiency, controversies despite the huge support it got from the government.

GRA has however started using the GCNet system on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, amidst the challenges.