Effective collaboration key to improving international trade — Shippers’ Authority CEO

 The acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), Professor Ransford Gyampo, has underscored the need for effective collaboration between the authority and other partner institutions to improve international trade.

He stated that there was a need for the shippers’ authority to work effectively with the Ghana Police Service, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), freight forwarders and other players to improve trade both locally and internationally.

As an authority, we are not an island, so we will work closely with all agencies and institutions in the shipping value chain to boost trade and improve the economy as well,” he stressed.

Prof. Gyampo was speaking during a familiarisation tour of the Paga border in the Kassena-Nankana-West District in the Upper East Region.

Visit

The visit was to enable the authority to interact with institutions that the GSA worked with.

It was also to help the acting CEO gather first-hand information about the operations of the institutions and how to work together to tackle the challenges that hindered their effective operation.

Accompanying him were the Director of Operations of the authority, Sylvia Asana Dauda-Owu; the Head of Corporate Affairs of the authority, Bernice Natue; the Head of Human Resource and Administration, Boatemaa Manu-Antwi, and the Head of the Northern Zone, Frederick Atogiyure.

High cost

As part of the visit, Prof. Gyampo interacted with freight forwarders and officials of the GRA, Police Service and the GIS to know their concerns and deliberate on how to address them.

He mentioned that a major issue of concern to the sector was the high cost of doing business occasioned by high taxes and charges slapped on goods and services and that the situation was pushing a lot of people out of business.

“We cannot allow it to continue as the high cost of doing business is preventing many individuals from doing business in the country,” he said and added the authority was preparing the Legislative Instrument (LI) to shape the implementation of the GSA’s new Act.

He stated that if the authority was able to implement the Act, it would help to address many of the challenges that shippers and other players faced in the industry and further called for further inter-agency cooperation for its effective implementation.

The acting CEO said the authority was also interested in protecting the interest of shippers so that Ghana would be the best destination for doing business.

Shippers in Bolgatanga

Later, the team visited the Craft Village in Bolgatanga to interact with traders in local artefacts such as baskets and smocks. They also interacted with other shippers to learn their concerns and the measures being taken to address them.

Sharing a concern, the Managing Director of the Craft Village, Ayinga A. Jonah, said the cost of shipping quantities of baskets worth GH¢1,000 was about GH¢3,000 and stated that the high cost of shipment was a disservice to the sector.

He appealed to the GSA to do everything possible to reduce shipping costs and bring relief to players in the industry.

Another shipper, Ibrahim Yaye, expressed the hope that the new leadership of the GSA would work assiduously to create a business-friendly environment for them to operate.

Responding to the concerns, Prof. Gyampo commended them for their contributions to the growth of international trade and assured them of the authority’s continuous support.

Writer’s email: gilbert.agbey@graphic.com.gh.