Where Are The Gains of Single Window And Paperless Ports?

Where Are The Gains of Single Window And Paperless Ports?

The Ghana First Patriotic Frontiers (GFPF) has observed with keen interest and dissatisfaction, the inconsistent and contradictory figures being churned out as evidence of supposed successes of the Single Window and Paperless Ports systems at Ghana’s ports.

This is more worrying, especially when the ordinary Ghanaian importer and exporter is still faced with very major challenges at our ports and clearing time has relapsed into what it used to be.
The private operators of the system have also not been able to quantify the exact revenue gained by the country since the introduction of the two systems.

What we have had is a consistent churning out of inconsistent figures from different stakeholders all claiming to be either the amount of money saved for the country or the figure of percentage in the reduction of demurrage payment.
 GFPF is unhappy at the attempt to rely on public relations gimmicks to make the paperless ports system sound successful at all cost when indeed, no verifiable facts and figures has been made available to back the claims.
It therefore came as a great welcoming news when the media reported that the Ministry of Trade and Industry has awarded a 10-year contract to a Ghanaian company and its oversees partners, CUPIA Korea Customs Service to provide a professional Single Window trade facilitation and customs management system (UNIPASS) at the ports.
It is believed this new operators would bring in systems to reduce the inspection agencies and further reduce clearing time at the ports.
The ports at crucial revenue generation points for the country and in this era where government needs additional funding to fund the Free Senior High School policy, all hands must be on deck to block all leakages in revenue generation.

It is for this reason that the single window and paperless ports operations ought to be handled with maximum professionalism and one that would make Ghana’s ports become the envy of the world.