The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana has declined the request made by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to gain access to the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) platforms utilized at the ports.
According to the Importers and Exporters, the ICUM platform contains valuable and sensitive data of importers and exporters as well as business operators, hence any breaches caused to the platform in the name of data access could prove futile to the business community.
Speaking to the media, the Executive Secretary for Importer and Exporters Association, Samson Asaki Awingobit indicated that the OSP can make such a request if there is a report made to him that needs investigation or he has picked intelligence on the ICUM that he wants to investigate that will be understandable.
“Because we strongly believe that the OSP office was not established to do clarification and valuation and collect duty on behalf of the State. In Ghana we use laws and that is why the Office of the Special Prosecutor was established by an ACT of Parliament. It is the same law that established the GRA and that is a globally custom issue of the GRA to be able to collect freight and duty for and on behalf of the government of Ghana not the Special Prosecutor.
“The Special Prosecutor’s duty is to investigate allegations and corruption practices and I strongly believe that he requesting that they put him on the ICUM system, his mandate is not to do clarifications and collect duties for the government,” Mr. Asaki Awingobit stated.
He further stated that the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana has been a propagator of best business practices and will support any move by the OSP to ensure the Port sector is free from corrupt practices.
“However, we also demand for clarity in the discharge of its duties to attract the needed support from industry players,” he stated.