The Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) has engaged women in cross-border trade in the northern part of the country and reiterated the critical role they play to ensure economic stability.
The engagement is part of a sensitisation workshop for women in cross-border trade organised by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
According to an officer with the Tamale Unit of the GSA, Abdul-Karim Munshin, the authority has put in place mechanisms through its six (6) Shipper Complaints and Support Units (SCSU) to deal with recurrent challenges faced by cross-border traders as part of efforts to enhance trade facilitation. He urged the women in cross-border trade not to despair when they are confronted with challenges, but open up to officers of the GSA at the borders who have been equipped to deal with such issues.
Currently, the GSA’s Shipper Complaints and Support Units are located at the Aviance Cargo Village at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), TACOTEL at the Takoradi Port, as well as the Elubo, Aflao, Paga, and Akanu borders.
Speaking at a sensitisation workshop held in Tamale on 9th August, 2022, the Head of Trade Facilitation and Import Management of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mr. Yeboah Kyeremeh, encouraged traders to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to expand their business.
Mr. Yeboah also urged traders to report the challenges they often face when doing business with neighbouring counties. This, he said, would help MoTI with the right information to address the situation through policy formulation.
Meanwhile, some of the traders who were present said top of the challenges they faced were human rights violations, sexual harassment and extortion by some border officials and other security agencies operating across the borders in the sub-region.
