The Ghana Shippers Authority in collaboration with the Borderless Alliance, with the support of allied institutions like the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority has organized a roadshow for haulage truck drivers at the Black Star Line in Tema.
The roadshow was to bring to the fore, the myriad of challenges associated with the road transportation of cargo on Ghana’s corridor as well as the problems faced by haulage truck owners and drivers.
Stakeholders present were the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Ghana Police Service, the Customs Divisionof the Ghana Revenue Authority, USAID Advance, USAID West Africa Trade and Investment Hub, West Africa Food Markets Program, Ghana Highway Authority and ECOWAS Brown Card Secretariat.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers Authority, BenonitaBismark, in a speech delivered on her behalf pledged her outfit’s commitment to improving Ghana’s transit corridor.
The National President of the Borderless Alliance, Zaid Hamoui said the free movement of goods and people is an important component of economic growth and that Ghana is well positioned to become the true gateway for West Africa with better management of its corridor, from the seaports to the borders and beyond.
The Director of Tema Port Edward Osei, expressed the readiness of the Port Authority in making Ghana a leading container hub and the beacon of trade and industry in West Africa.
Meanwhile, the Road governance caravan which continued along the Tema – Paga corridor aimed at educating and sensitising stakeholders on key issues concerning the movement of cargo along the corridor; strengthening the political will to eliminate inefficiencies and fight police harassments continued on the Transit corridor to Paga.
According to the Ghana Shippers Authority, it has over the years introduced innovative programmes and consistently partnered with relevant stakeholders to resolve shipping and logistics challenges that retard trade facilitation.
Bashiruddin Abdul-Aki, Senior Research Officer of the Ghana Shippers Authority in an interview expressedthat “we would continue to collaborate with our partners, Borderless Alliance, and other stakeholders to ensure that going forward, all the changes are necessary and all the collaborations that would be able to enhance the free movement of goods along the corridor is done. Because we believe that at the end of the day, if the cost of trade is reduced, we would be doing so much to help the economy and our individual shippers.”
The Trade Facilitation Specialist at the Borderless Alliance, Ghana, Bright SenamGowonu commended the advocacy and free movement of goods on the corridor.
“The Mali trucks taking clinker from the Port of Takoradi are paying GH¢100 at each police checkpoint between Tamale and Bolgatanga. We believe that such practices are not suitable for making our corridor very competitive. It is not in favour of the government’s effort of creating a borderless region where Ghana would be at the center of economic development,” he explained.
The Chairman for Upper East Shippers Committee, Francis Danso, said there has been improvement in the contact lines from customs, axle load and borderless Alliance when handling challenges.
