The Union of African Shippers Councils’ (UASC) 8th African Shippers’ Day celebration has been held at the M.T. Addico conference hall of the Ghana Shippers House in Accra.
The event which came off on 22nd – 24th November, 2017 was hosted by the Ghana Shippers’ Authority under the auspices of the Transport Ministry. It was on the theme “Trade facilitation and its impact on Africa’s Industrialization.”
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Chairperson of the UASC and Chief Executive of the Ghana Shippers Authority, Ms Benonita Bismarck said the concept of the Shippers’ Day as was adopted by the Union of African Shippers’ Councils (UASC) in order to celebrate the efforts and achievements of importers and exporters in propelling trade and development in our sub-region.
According to her, the event provides the platform for interaction among key players in the international trade and transport chain which includes shippers (i.e. exporters and importers), ship owners, port authorities, freight forwarders, customs, multimodal transport operators and other ancillary service providers.
Ms Bismarck mentioned some of the challenges confronting shippers in Africa which increase the time and cost of doing business at the ports, including the multiplicity of agencies in the cargo clearance process, ineffective risk management systems, inconsistent custom valuation figures, increasing shipping line/agents charges. She called for a concerted effort and well-thought out strategies including appropriate regulations to deal with the challenges.
The Chairperson of the UASC and CEO of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority was optimistic that the coming into force of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement will continue to bring to the fore the obligations on the part of governments in creating a congenial environment for businesses to thrive.
The Minister of Transport, Hon. Kweku Ofori Asiamah in an address, noted that the African continent is blessed with enormous resources and there is the need to hasten the process of industrialization supported by the implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement to enable it benefit fully from the resources available.
According to him, the process of industrialization must be supported by the implementation of effective trade facilitation measures to transform the economies on the continent and create jobs for the growing working youth and ultimately ensure an accelerated socio-economic growth of the continent.
On his part, the Minister for Trade and Industry, Hon. Alan Kyeremanteng reiterated that government is implementing the Ten-Point plan for industrial transformation with a key pillar being the One-District One-Factory programme. The policy, according to the Minister, is aimed at setting up at least one medium to large manufacturing firm in each of the 216 districts in Ghana. This will have an Export Development Programme which seeks to take advantage of AGOA and the Economic Partnership Agreement.
The Trade and Industry Minister also noted that the shipper was the centre of any effective trade facilitation effort and that it is the shipper who generates international trade. He called for policies and efforts to be geared towards ensuring that the shipper is competitive.
As part of activities marking the 8th African Shippers’ Day, a seminar, gala dinner, trade fair and a tour of the Tema Port were held.
The seminar which spanned two days saw renowned maritime experts presenting papers on varied topics including Single Window: an essential tool for trade facilitation; Facilitation of Transit for the competitiveness of the economies of landlocked countries; and the Role of ports in Trade Facilitation. Participants included stakeholders of Ghana’s trade and shipping community as well as delegates of the UASC.
The trade fair which was held at the forecourt of the Ghana Shippers’ House saw corporate bodies including banks, shipping and logistics companies, shippers’ organisations and the private sector participating.
The Gala dinner was held at the Golden Tulip and hosted by the Hon. Minister of Transport. Certificates were delivered to the various shippers councils for participating in the 8th African Shippers’ Day.
Delegates from the 17 sister countries of UASC that participated in the Shippers Day were toured the
Tema port as well as the ongoing expansion project.
