*Ghana to de-licence shipping lines
*Amaechi, Customs re-start talks over Single Window
*West Blue Consulting may be recalled
Intra-regional integration among African countries has been identified as the most veritable means of attaining sustainable economic development in the regions, as the Ghanaian government has threatened to withdraw the operating licences of some shipping line operating in Ghana for always flouting the government directives guiding shipping business in the country.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria’s Minister of Transport, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi has said that the Federal Ministry of Transport has recommenced talks with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to deploy the suspended National Single Window project to ease trade facilitation in the country.
Riding on the growing need for synergy in place of competition, maritime nations in West and Central Africa have opted for the introduction of regional single window network application for trade facilitation as well as inter-regional Cabotage trade laws.
To consummate these aspirations, regional trade laws and protocols will soon be made as a compass for trade in West and Central African countries.
This dominated discussions at the recently concluded two days African Ports Evolution (APE) Conference and Exhibition in Accra, Ghana.
Speaking at the occasion, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Barr. Hassan Bello, who stated that in October, 2016 Nigeria would be hosting a regional conference where Africans have to ratify a convention, observed that “there is no uniformity in laws and procedures in member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). We need to have regional laws; we need to have regional protocols as far as trade is concerned.
“We have to diversify the economies because a lot of potentials exist between these countries. So we really have to explore the markets and integration, which must be built on something. In Europe, we have conventions. This, we must emulate. We can’t have some rules in Ghana, some in Nigeria, Niger, among other countries, and expect to have seamless trade. Trade is based on uniformity of the rules first and then the integrity of the transaction and technology.” Bello added.
He further stressed his position, saying “One of the reasons there is problem with Niger transit cargo in Nigeria is that the Customs will insist on escorting the goods on truck until they are delivered to Niger. But if you have cargo tracking or advanced cargo information system, you need not to do this. You will reduce a whole lot of costs. The deployment of the appropriate technology will solve a lot of these problems. This is where the National Single Window also comes in. The future of African trade lies with collaborations not economies of scale.”
Former Secretary General of Maritime Organizations of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Mr. Magnus Addico, blamed the seeming stagnation of the region in trade and maritime growth on inconsistencies in respective country’s policies and leadership of the relevant ministries and agencies, observing that so many recommendations had been made without implementations.
According to him, “We must begin to put these recommendations to use. Everybody wants a hub port not a spoke. Until we move shipping away from politics, the sub-region will remain underdeveloped.”
In his contribution, the Transit Manager, GCNet, Ghana, Mr. Jimmy Allotey called for “a synergistic and collaborative port community” in the sub-region, opting for separate single window network for countries but with a common standard.
The Director General, Port Authority of Cotonou, Benin Republic, Madame Amelie Amoussou Kpeto, represented, said that they had set up National Single Window on inter-regional trade to facilitate connectivity, asserting “ through the single window and connectivity Africa’s regional Cabotage will work.”
The conference attracted participants from countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Gabon, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Benin Republic, South Africa, Togo, among others.
However, MMS Plus gathered that the Ghanaian Minister of Transport, Mr. Fiifi Kwetey has read riot act to the foreign shipping companies operating in Ghana, to obey the rules of operations or lose their licences. This came against the background of the insistence by shipping lines to introduce the collection of Terminal Handling Charges (THC) as local charges at the port of destination in spite of the Minister’s directive to the contrary.
According to a source in Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), a coalition of business interests group in Ghana agreed that the shipping lines be de-licensed if they flout the THC suspension order of the government. The group comprises: Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Ghana National Chamber of Commerce (GNCC), Ghana Chamber of Mines, Federation of Associations of Ghana Exporters(FAGE),among others
The shipping lines had introduced an average of $150 as a THC for 20-foot container and $265 for a 40-foot container.
Some of the shipping lines are: Maerskline, Meditterranean Shipping Company (MSC), CMA CGM.
Nigeria’s Minister of Transport has set aside the differences between him and the Customs authority over who implements the National Single Window project in Nigeria. He told MMS Plus that he had recommenced talks with Customs on how to restart the project, which was abandoned by West Blue Consulting in the receding regime of President Goodluck Jonathan over undisclosed misunderstanding between the Consultant and government officials.
Amaechi, however, on assumption of duty recommended an earlier sacked Pre-shipment inspection agency, Bureau Veritax to implement the project. But this was a hard sell to Customs, sparking off some verbal controversies. However, it appears the Minister will recall West Blue Consulting own by Ms. Valentina Mintah for the job, as the Ministry may have begun talks with her.
The Single Window concept was developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in 2005, as an efforts to simplify, harmonize and standardize international trade procedures and associated information flows between trade and government and within government itself. Since initiated, it has been implemented in over 70 countries as a key tool to enhance the trade and economic competitiveness of countries.
