A group photograph of participants of the IEAG Editors’ Forum
The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana has held a day’s forum for selected news editors in Accra on port operations to address everyday issues pertaining to the maritime trade.
The program also assembled industry experts and veterans to educate the journalists on the nuances of port operations.
While educating the journalists on port processes, a Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Joseph Adu Kyei emphasized on the importance of compliance in reaping the full benefits of the automated port clearance processes.
He insisted that, “the Customs Division of GRA is here to facilitate trade and not here to burden you with unnecessary challenges. Help us to help you. All the statutory requirements are captured in the Act 891 OF 2015.”
He also revealed that plans are underway to automate the auctioning process.
A former Commissioner of Customs, Wallace Akondor called for legislation to back the online auction process.
The President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association, Dr. Joseph Obeng called on the government to examine the auction regime as traders lose their goods through it, noting that the high duties on imported goods made it difficult for importers to clear within the stipulated time.
He said, “there is a need for government to revisit the auction regime, so traders are no more affected. I can see a whole cartel being created around this auction process and it is not helping us at all.”
There were solidarity messages from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), ICUMS, and the Association of Customs House Agents, Ghana (ACHAG), among others.
The Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association, Sampson Asaki Awingobit emphasized that the program would help members of the press churn out accurate reportage on the industry.
Mr. Asaki said, “these conversations are needed and important to shape the kind of news that go out there. We chose the senior editors this time because it is important for them to guide the reports produced by their reporters on the happenings within this industry.”
(The Daily Searchlight appears every day on the newsstands and for sale 24 hours every day and all week on www.ghananewsstand.com. Visit www.ghananewsstand.com for a wide variety of newspapers published in Ghana and from across the world.)
