Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare has moved to address operational bottlenecks within the free zones area, pledging to cut delays and streamline oversight as businesses warn that mounting bureaucracy is driving up costs and eroding competitiveness.
At a meeting with the Freezones Enterprises Association, operators raised concerns over delays in the movement of containers, citing mandatory security escorts, limited personnel and overlapping regulatory controls. While members said they supported security measures, they argued that duplicated processes and coordination gaps were slowing turnaround times and undermining efficiency.
Ofosu-Adjare acknowledged the complaints, stressing that delays translate directly into higher costs for businesses. “Anything that slows business down costs money, and that is something we must deal with urgently,” she said, adding that unnecessary impediments to trade were unacceptable.
The minister, however, defended the need for robust oversight, pointing to instances where a minority of operators had abused free zone privileges by diverting goods into the domestic market without paying duties. Such practices, she said, had compelled government to tighten controls to protect revenue and ensure compliance.
To balance enforcement with efficiency, Ofosu-Adjare announced plans to engage the Commissioner-General of Customs and the Minister for Finance to improve coordination around escort arrangements and significantly reduce delays without weakening regulatory safeguards.
She also welcomed proposals from the association to review Bank of Ghana rules on advance payments to suppliers, citing openness to differentiated thresholds that take account of business size and transaction volumes.
The engagement aligns with moves to position free zones as a competitive platform for export-oriented manufacturing and logistics.
