BY EUGENIA SERWAA
The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), and other key players have thrown their weight behind the newly passed Ghana Shippers’ Authority Law.
The various trade associations indicated their support at a stakeholder engagement organised by the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) to seek input for setting up a Legislative Instrument (LI) that would guide the implementation of the new law. The law will empower the GSA to protect the interests of shippers and shipping service providers and improve its regulatory oversight of the entire industry.
Over the last five (5) decades, Ghana Shippers Authority has driven compliance with established standards and guidelines in the commercial shipping sector in Ghana and through Ghana to Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali.
The amended law repeals and replaces the 50-year-old establishment law of the organisation, the 1974 Act (NRCD 254). The passage of the Bill into law aims to address the issue of unfair and excessive charges burdening traders who use Ghana’s sea and air ports, as well as land borders, to ply their international trade.
Major trade associations in the country expressed confidence that the newly passed Ghana Shippers’ Authority law will help to address recurrent challenges expressed by shippers over the years. The President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Dr Humphrey Ayim Darkeh, described the new law as a welcoming one, saying it would strengthen the business community by enabling shippers to engage with their agents in an equitable manner.
“The role of the Shipper’s Authority is well defined—they become a form of a referee to aid us create the equity that is needed in the cost of doing business, especially from the port of entry where our various costs that feed into our productions are raised by virtue of the agent’s role,” he noted.
The President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr Joseph Obeng, is hopeful the operationalisation of the new law will positively impact the cost of doing business in Ghana. The Roads and Transport Committee of Parliament justified the bill, highlighting the fragmentation of shippers within the country, which has resulted in weak bargaining power against multinational shipping service providers.
