The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is not backing down on its calls for the President to avoid assenting to the new Ghana Shippers’ Authority Act, insisting on a review of the act.
Parliament on Monday, July 29 passed the Ghana Shippers’ Authority Bill, 2024. The bill among others, amends the previous Shippers Authority law [the NRCD 254 (1974)]. It’s also aimed at regulating the commercial activities of shippers, and will primarily address the issue of unfair and excessive charges that burden traders who use Ghana’s sea and airports, as well as land borders to ply their international trade.
Portions of the new Act have met stiff opposition from GUTA and other trade groupings. Despite the opposition, other trade associations have wholeheartedly embraced the Act calling out GUTA and others for opposition to the Act.
Amidst the controversy, GUTA has reemphasized their earlier calls on the President to halt assenting to the Act until the concerns are addressed.
GUTA President, Dr. Joseph Obeng tells The High Street Journal that his association is not against the Ghana Shippers’ Authority as some quarters are making it seem. According to the President, the Act in its current state will rather stifle trade facilitation, and offer undue authority to GSA to institute extreme punitive sanctions on shippers.
The Act, in its current state, GUTA believes is an attempt by the Ghana Shippers Authority to institute a licensing regime, a move the association vehemently opposes.
“We don’t have anything against Ghana Shippers Authority in its quest to have some authority to get some teeth to bite. This is what we have been fighting for so that the shipping lines cannot continue to extort us. But by formulating the act, they made a few mistakes. Their main interest is to safeguard the interest of the shipper but in this particular case, they are punishing the shipper rather by way of the registration,” Dr. Obeng explained.
He added: “If you are registering for the purposes of collecting data, we don’t have an issue with you. But if you are using registration as a guise for an import permit and import license, then we are not going to allow you to do that. We are not to secure a permit or get a license before we can import our goods. We are creating another layer of doing business and another time. Trade facilitation is the ease, time, and cost of doing business. We are creating another layer of frustration we have to go through before we can embark on importation.”
The insistence of GUTA follows an earlier response by the Ghana Shippers Authority indicating that the law will not stifle businesses but will enhance the growth and development of commercial businesses.
The authority in a statement further indicated that they are open to broader engagement to address the concerns of all stakeholders to make all parties satisfied.
GSA noted that “it remains open to constructive collaboration and engagement with all stakeholders and interested parties within the commercial shipping sector, as we continue to confer on shaping the sector into a fit-for-purpose engine of socio-economic growth for the common good of traders as well as the general citizenry of Ghana.”
However, GUTA is insisting on the review of the Act, rather than the proposed rectification through a Legislative Instrument. This option, GUTA says it’s the only means they can have an amicable solution to the issue.
