Members of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) May 16, 2018 at a seminar in Accra received education on how to avoid demurrage payments at the country’s ports.
This is the second in series of a nationwide Demurrage Campaign organised by the Ghana Shipper’s Authority (GSA) in collaboration with stakeholders in the maritime transport sector geared towards reducing the cost of doing business at the ports. The maiden edition of the seminar was organised for members of the Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA) some few weeks ago.
A cross section of the AGI members at the seminar
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the AGI, Mr Seth Twum-Akwaboah, lauded the Authority for its commitment to sensitise importers and the trading public on how to avoid the payment of demurrage.
From right to left: Ms Benonita Bismarck, CEO of GSA; Mr Seth Twum-Akwaboah, CEO of AGI and Mr. Tsornam Akpello, Greater Accra Chairman of AGI.
Ms Benonita Bismarck, the CEO of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, described the demurrage costs incurred by shippers as one of the biggest disincentives to the growth of import and export businesses in Ghana.
“The government of H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated its commitment to reducing the cost of doing business at our seaports through very bold initiatives and interventions in the cargo clearance process, with the ultimate objective of bringing the needed relief to shippers. To sustain the success of these interventions, all stakeholders need to show commitment to delivering efficiency at their various sections along the value chain.”, she added.
From left to right: Mr Edward Akrong, Acting Executive Secretary of GIFF; Mr Emmanuel Arku, Head of Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at GSA; Mr Louis Mennia, from GRA-Customs and Mr Adam Imoro Ayarna, Vice President of SOAAG
The Head of Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at the GSA, Mr Emmanuel Arku; Vice President of Ship Owners and Agents Association of Ghana (SOAAG), Mr Adam Imoro Ayarna; Chief Revenue Officer, GRA-Customs, Mr Louis Mennia; and the Acting Executive Secretary of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), Mr Edward Akrong took turns as resource persons from their stakeholder perspectives to explain to members of the AGI the causes of demurrage and ways to avoid them.
