The government expects that processes geared towards developing service standards for the operations of shipping lines, terminal operators, freight forwarders and other service providers will be fast-tracked to help streamline charges at the ports and reduce the cost of shipping.
This will help mitigate
the dramatic increasing cost of shipping, which impacts inflation.
“These developments have given the
government great impetus to accelerate ongoing measures to streamline charges
at the ports and reduce the cost of shipping,” the Minister of Transport, Kwaku
Ofori-Asiamah, said.
In a speech read on his behalf by one
of his deputies, Frederick Obeng Adom, at the fifth edition of the Maritime and
Shipping Industry Awards, the minister indicated that the government was keen
on implementing measures that would help shippers and shipping service
providers remain competitive in the global shipping and logistics industry,
while a reduction in service costs would also significantly help in
consolidating the gains in the sector.
He intimated that the rise in global
inflation had, for instance, pushed the United States (US) into enacting
legislation to improve oversight of ocean shipping in a bid to reduce costs and
help curb inflation.
Event, awards
The awards, organised by Globe
Production, in partnership with the Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA), the Ghana
Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) and the
Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), saw 68 institutions and
individuals honoured in various honorary and competitive categories.
The Takoradi Container Terminal
(Tacotel), new entrants into the industry, having commenced operations five
years ago, won the Terminal Operator of the Year award, with its Chief
Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Felix Nana Sackey, being adjudged the Personality
of the Year.
Other winners were the Group Chairman
of Ghana Link, Nick Adjei Danso, who took home the ultimate award of
Entrepreneur of the Year, while his company won five awards, including
Excellence in Innovation and Technology.
Global Cargo and Commodities Limited,
the only indigenous private company that owns and operates the GCT Terminal at
the Tema Port, also took home the Logistics Service Provider of the Year award,
with its CEO, Jacob Gbati, winning the CEO of the Year award.
Others were Meridian Port Services
(MPS) - Industry Leadership Award and Excellence in Health, Safety, Environment
and Quality (HSEQ); Aviance Ghana, MacDan Shipping, Basileia, MSC, DHL, Bethel
Logistics, among others.
Competitive
The Ministry of Transport, Mr
Ofori-Asiamah said, had, over the years, taken note of shipper complaints,
including arbitrary charges by some service providers, demurrage-free counting
days, working days and hours and arbitrary exchange rates used by some service
providers.
“I am happy to inform you that action
is being taken to find lasting solutions to these complaints and it is my
fervent hope that consensus will be built to deal with these matters as quickly
as possible to help not only support your operations but also accelerate
economic growth,” he said.
Maritime Authority
A Deputy Chief Executive of the GMA,
Daniel Appianin, who represented the Director-General, Thomas Alonsi, said the
authority would continue to work to create a congenial environment for all
players.
He called on players to develop
innovative means that would sustain the sector and make it an enabler of
economic growth and poverty reduction.
The Deputy Harbour Master of the Port
of Tema, Captain Daniel Quartey, who represented the Director-General of the
GPHA, Michael Luguje, pointed out that millions of livelihoods were dependent
on the port and its associated industry, for which reason its sustainability
remained key not only to the Ghanaian economy but also the global economy at
large.
He commended the Ghana Navy for the
key role it continued to play to sustain the security of the sector, which he
said had led to Ghana playing host to the ECOWAS Multinational Maritime
Coordination Centre (MMCC) Zone F Office.
“Some years ago, you heard that the
Gulf of Guinea maritime domain was the den of pirates. In 2020, we had 40
kidnappings within the domain. However, 2022 has recorded no incident, and if
the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Issah Adam Yakubu, sits here with us, he
and his men and women deserve all commendation,” Captain Quartey said.
Maritime challenges
The CEO of the GSA, Benonita Bismarck,
indicated that hopes of the cost of freight returning to normal hung in the
balance, as post-COVID-19 events and the Russia/Ukraine war had contributed to
unstable cost of doing business at the ports.
That, she indicated, had brought an
enormous burden on the operations of industry players, “which has invariably
affected the cost of goods on our markets”.
She said from Fitch’s ratings in its
2022 half-year review of the global maritime industry performance, maritime
transport costs still remained exceptionally high, compared to the pre-COVID-19
era, but there were signs that the situation would stabilise.
That notwithstanding, the GSA would
continue to promote and protect the interest of shippers in Ghana by finding
solutions to the challenges that hindered their competitiveness, she said .
“We have achieved these through our
innovative programmes across the country in the form of trade facilitation,
sensitisation, trade advisory support and services, among others, which have
tangible results in the improvement of trade compliance, capacity of shippers
to manage their shipments, among others,” Ms Bismarck said.
Hall of Fame
The Coordinator of the awards, the CEO
of Globe Productions, Latif Abubakar, announced that companies and individuals
who, since the inception of the awards, had won certain competitive categories
over the period had been inducted into the award hall of fame, making them
ineligible to contest the categories in future awards.
Source: Graphic Online