The Ghana Shippers Authority has intensified its collaborative work towards achieving a “zero demurrage” payment by government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) at the ports.
The Authority, on Tuesday, April 22, held an inter-governmental forum with various stakeholders in the ports system to embolden, particularly, MDAs involved in port activities to ensure the elimination of demurrage payment.
This development comes on the back of recent lock up of some 182 containers of medical shipments from the Global Fund for Ghana at the Tema ports, of which 14 have since been cleared.
Demurrage is a charge imposed by shipping lines for delay in clearing a cargo, ranging between US$22 to US$48 per a 20-foot container each day, and US$44 to US$96 per a 40-foot container, after a mandatory seven-day period.
In a speech read on his behalf, Mr Kwesi Baffour Sarpong, Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Shippers Authority, charged officers in various MDAs to urgently take actions to stop incurring penalties for delays in clearing of goods.
He noted that though there had been a reduction in demurrage payment between 2017 and 2022, it was observed that MDAs paid most of thoses penalties, despite not often being the cause of the delays.
“The goal of the Authority is thus to champion a demurrage free port in the interest of shippers and the national economy in the shortest possible time,” said Mr Sarpong.
He stated that a study conducted by the Research Department of the Authority showed a reduction in demurrage by importers in Ghana from US$76 million to US$24 million.
He attributed the downward trend to government interventions like the paperless port project, and pre-arrival declaration in the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS.
Mr Sarpong also included improvement in some infrastructure at the ports, as well as demurrage sensitisation campaigns championed by the Authority since 2018 as part of the measures that had led to the demurrage reduction.
“The Authority reiterates its appeal to Chief Directors, CEOs, Managing Directors and other relevant officers of MDAs/State-Owned Enterprises, to take urgent action to ensure that their consignments are expeditiously cleared from the ports to mitigate the use of State resources for such avoidable costs,” he said.
He said the Authority would soon sign a service level agreement with shipping service providers to engender accountability in line with the implementation of sector regulations.
Mrs Monica Josiah, Head, Shippers Services and Trade Facilitation Department, Ghana Shippers Authority, during a presentation, called for a holistic approach, involving MDAs, shippers, haulers, and policymakers, to tackle the challenges.
“Government cargoes are often cited for staying at the port over 100-days, and there are huge financial cost involved,” she said, and encouraged officers in various MDAs to double up efforts in reducing demurrage payments.
Mr Paul Kobina Mensah, Logistics and Transportation Sector Head, Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, GNCCI, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said it was important for sensitisation to be done periodically among shippers in MDAs.
“Before they import, they have to find all the regulatory measures and documentation around the transaction they want to enter into, and engage a qualified freight forwarder to work on all the processes before the goods arrive.
“If that’s done, by the time the goods arrive, every document that are needed will be in place, then you can get the goods out of the port as early as possible,” Mr Mensah said.
