Urgent attention needed for innovative SIGMAT System

One of the primary goals of ECOWAS is to ensure the seamless movement of goods across borders within the economic community and member states are required to automate clearance processes doing away with the manual ways of doing things.

Ghana has made significant advancements through the use of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS). Yet, to realize the full potential for trade across the sub-region, customs administrations are required to link their clearance systems. This is made possible by the new Interconnected System for the Management of Goods in Transit also known as SIGMAT.

Currently, Ghana is fully interconnected with Cote D’Ivoire and Togo and progress is being made to interconnect with Benin and Nigeria. Connection with Burkina Faso & Niger on the SIGMAT system has stalled due to the political situation in those states.

An assistant commissioner in charge of Transit, Peter Antobre Ofori gave this update on the Eye on Port TV program. He said the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority is working to resolve the teething challenges that have emerged from the use of SIGMAT.

Mr. Antobre Ofori, who admitted to these problems said a committee has been instituted for this purpose.

He made this revelation in response to some complaints by the outgoing president of GIFF, Eddy Akrong on the same program.

According to Mr. Akrong, the SIGMAT system which he called “a good system for transit”, has some technical difficulties that are now inconveniencing other cargo segments such as direct exports.

“Just this week, a gentleman coming from Togo with a box of hair pieces, got into Ghana but was told by customs they needed to wait for a signal from the Togolese side because of SIGMAT. This is surprising because it is something that needs to be treated as a headload. He had to wait for the signal and go through a whole declaration just to resolve that. Here, trade facilitation is affected,” he cited.

“Again, on the direct export side, if importers do a declaration because it has been consummated into the SIGMAT, they have to do what we call the bonded transport although you don’t have to do a bond for it because it is not required. Once you do that, there’s the gate in the gate out process to confirm the status of goods. First of all, you’re entering information that is non-existent because you haven’t done a bond yet you’re supposed to enter some bond information, which means you may have to make it up. Once the gate out is successful, you have to see the customs officer at the other end to gate in and out before declaration is freed, else it will look like your declaration is in suspense,” he added.

The outgoing GIFF president said it is important for urgent attention to be given to the technical challenges of the SIGMAT system to cover only transit as originally intended.

He also called for more sensitization on the SIGMAT system as it currently appears not enough importers and freight forwarders know about it.

The Assistant Commissioner of the Customs Division of GRA in charge of Transit, said under one year of implementation of the SIGMAT system has come with some gains.

This includes protection of the protocols governing the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme, reduction in smuggling, and other trade and criminal offenses.