CENTRAL, WESTERN REGIONS EXPORTERS TOUR TEMA PORT (PAGE 18, NOV 21)

EXPORTERS of local products from the Central and Western regions have toured the Tema Port to familiarise themselves with and ascertain the processes and documentation which their goods go through before shipment.
The exporters belong to the Western and Central Regional Shipper committees under the umbrella of the Ghana Shippers Council.
Those from the Central Region export citrus to places including the Far East, the Middle East and India, while those from the Western Region export varieties of agricultural produce and minerals, including cocoa, manganese and bauxite.
The tour took them to the various terminals of loading and discharging where they saw how cargo and containers were handled.
At the Golden Jubilee Terminal, the Operations Manager, Mr Nii Amasa, took the exporters through processes of documentation, noting that the Jubilee Terminal was solely for the devanning of containers which had items belonging to groups of people.
He stated that the port now operated on electronic systems and, therefore, had not had cases of misplaced cargo nor delay in the clearance of cargo.
Nii Amasa explained that documents were received electronically and processed before the arrival of containers.
He said between 3,500 and 4,000 containers were processed monthly at the terminal for clearing, adding that the terminal had challenges of fraudulent documentation and forged signatures in the clearing of goods but he was emphatic that those involved had not succeeded in their deals.
The Chairman of the Western Regional Shipper Committee, Mr Robert Huedelu, in an interview, appealed to the government to seriously consider revamping the country's railway system to cut down on cost of transportation and also save the road network from further deterioration.
He was optimistic that the rail system would boost transit trade as well.
The Chairman of the Central Regional Shipper Committee, Opanyin Kwame Tenadu, said members sometimes had difficulty in logging on to the GCnet.
He stated that the use of the GCnet was also to help in monitoring the arrival of vessels and documentation.
He urged the various divisions at the port to ensure that the Gcnet worked effectively to help smoothen the sea trade.
He noted that the tour had been a healthy approach to make the exporters have first-hand information on the operations at the port and commended the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority for improving the facilities at the port.
The Head of the Shipper Services Department of the Ghana Shippers Council, Mrs Sylvia Asana Owu, explained that the exporters needed to be well informed to be able to understand the operations at the port.