The Customs division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has refuted rumors suggesting that Ghana is losing transit cargoes to neighboring countries like Togo and Ivory Coast.
Gerald Agbettor, Chief Revenue Officer and Officer in Charge of Transit at the Customs division of GRA, dismissed these claims during an appearance on the Eye on Port show on Metropolitan Television, based in Accra.
Agbettor emphasized that Ghana is not experiencing losses in transit cargoes, citing data from customs declarations to support his assertion. He highlighted that the volume of transit trade in the country has shown growth.
He elaborated that from January to March 2024, the transit trade witnessed a significant increase of 136,000 metric tons compared to the same period in 2023, rising from 308,000,000 metric tons to 444,000,000 metric tons in 2024.
“Some time ago, I joined the chorus, especially transit business from the ports to the hinterlands, they say that Ghana is losing the transit trade to other places. By my background, I was able to have access to the data manifest and when I went through it, I saw transshipment to Benin, transshipment to Togo, and it became alarming. But the fact that it is transshipment on the manifest to Togo and Benin does not mean we are losing transit trade to them,” he explained.
Mr. Agbettor also revealed that the diversion rate in Ghana is minimal. Nonetheless, he emphasized the importance of enhancing security measures at ports and transit terminals to promote equitable trade.
Moreover, he commended the Ghana Ports and Harbour’s Authority for helping the Customs division of GRA save GH¢90 million in efforts to reduce diversion rates at the port.
He noted that Ghana Link contributed significantly by installing dedicated monitoring devices on house-to-house containers moving from transit terminals to transit parks.
“It is not really rampant, but it does not mean security should be relaxed, it should rather be tightened. A meeting was recently held with stakeholders to gather data from them so it can be used to best serve customers,” he said.
Eric Adiamah, a Council member of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF) and a panelist on the show, echoed the sentiments of the Chief Revenue Officer regarding the flourishing state of transit in Ghana.
Adiamah affirmed that the Port of Tema stands out as the top choice among landlocked countries along the West African coast. However, he disclosed that Ghana is experiencing some loss of transit volume to neighboring countries due to regulatory constraints and the high cost associated with transit operations, despite the Port of Tema’s commendable safety and security standards.
“Transit business is thriving well. Only problem we see as operators of transit business is the cost of doing the business. The volumes as my brother has said are from data I have no access to, but on the ground what we know is that we are losing some volumes to neighbouring countries like Lomé. Meanwhile, between Togo port and Tema Port, when it comes to security and quality of service, the Port of Tema is way ahead,” he said.
Mr. Adiamah said the regulations governing transit trade are sufficient to control the diversion of transit cargo at the ports and encouraged the GRA, Customs division to bolster its operational collaborations with freight forwarders in order to discourage them from participating in transit diversion.
As a further disincentive to others, he urged that those apprehended for transit diversion offences must be made to face the full rigours of the law.
“If the rules provided by the books are followed to the latter, monitored by customs and all the authorities, the rules as they stand now are enough to do the business. The new things they are bringing up, will not improve anything, they will not stop diversion, it will only worry people who do legitimate business,” he averred.
The Officer in charge of transit explained that section 95, ACT 891, 2015, (6) of the Customs Act allowed for escorts for high risked goods under transit when the Commissioner deems it so.
“There were suspicions that some high risk goods were likely to be diverted and because of that, we have to place escorts on them. So, it is not the entirety of the whole transit trade. High risk goods like rice, tomato paste, cooking oil, vegetable oil, ethanol, alcohol, diapers are being brought in more, hence, the directives from the Commissioner and Commissioner General that we should ensure that we put escort on them,” he explained.