The Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) was established by NRCD 254 of 1974 to, among others, effectively manage the demand side of Ghana’s shipping industry with a view to protecting the interests of Ghanaian shippers in relation to port, ship, inland transportation and other ancillary problems with a view to ensuring a quick, safe, reliable and cost effective delivery of cargo for the shipper in Ghana.
Since its establishment four decades ago, the Authority has worked closely with other sectors of the industry in protecting and promoting the interests of Ghanaian shippers and ensured the provision of relevant logistics for the growth of shipping and trade in the country.
Education of shippers and the business community
The GSA upholds the need to educate and sensitise shippers, the business community and other relevant stakeholders in order to assist them improve upon their knowledge and skills and also adopt best business practices.
The education programmes take the form of seminars, conferences and workshops. These programmes are held across the nation and they include:
The GSA regularly holds open fora in order to interact with importers, exporters and traders in their trading localities to learn of problems confronting them in their day-to-day business transactions. Several of these fora have been held for members of the Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA) around the country over the years.
The GSA also holds a National Shippers’ Day (NSD) biennially to bring together suppliers and consumers of shipping services in Ghana. Instituted in 1997, the NSD has become a national platform for interaction among key players along Ghana’s international trade and transport chain, including shippers (exporters/importers), ship owners, port authorities, freight forwarders, customs, multimodal transport operators and other ancillary service providers.
It is an occasion for all the stakeholders in the industry to deliberate on issues affecting the trade and the transport sectors of the country’s economy.
The NSD has over the years provided opportunities for importers and exporters to take stock of the performance of Ghana’s international trade and transport industry and to highlight the problems and challenges they face in the shipment of goods.
The event also provides an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the hard-working shippers and other stalwarts of the industry for their invaluable contribution to the economic development of our dear nation, as well as their commitment and resilience in the face of challenges and problems inherent in international trade processes.
Maritime Law Seminars for Judges of the Superior Courts are also held annually to update the knowledge of the Judges on current developments in international maritime law. The ninth in the series of Maritime Law Seminars was held in 2013.
Seminars are also held annually to keep media practitioners abreast with the new developments in international trade and transport industry. The fourth in the series of media seminars was held in 2013.
Workshops are regularly held across the country to educate transporters, haulage truck drivers and their owners on the rules and regulations governing the transportation of cargo on the country’s roads as a means of reducing cargo truck accidents in the country.
Import/Export Shipper Committees
The GSA has a Shipper Committee in each of the country’s 10 regions as a medium of bringing its activities to the doorsteps of shippers in Ghana. These Committees meet regularly to discuss common shipping problems affecting the shipping industry in Ghana. These Committees have also become a conduit for providing training to shippers.
Facilitation of Transit Trade
The GSA also continues to collaborate with other industry stakeholders to promote the use of Ghana’s corridor by its land-locked neighbours for their transit cargoes. In this regard, the GSA has signed Memoranda of Understanding with its counterpart organisations in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
The GSA, since 2006, has been collaborating with USAID West Africa Trade Hub to systematically monitor the prevalence of delays, checkpoints and bribes on Ghana’s transit corridors in comparison with other corridors in the sub-region.
The Authority has also formed Transit Shipper Committees at Tema and Takoradi, which meet regularly to discuss and find solutions to critical issues and problems hindering the smooth operation of the transit trade in the country.
Negotiation of freight and port charges
The GSA negotiates freight and Port charges on behalf of shippers. For instance, it teams up annually with the Cocoa Marketing Company to negotiate freight rates and other conditions of shipment (for transporting cocoa beans abroad) with the shipping lines serving Ghana’s cocoa trade. These negotiations have always resulted in huge savings for Ghana in terms of the cost of freight for cocoa. In 2013, the savings that accrued to Ghana as a result of the negotiations amounted to $(9m).
It has recently negotiated the charges of some shipping service providers such as Freight Forwarders, Sea Freight Consolidators and the Ports Authority and published the negotiated rates in the media under the caption “Do Not Pay More”.
Resolution of shipper complaints
The GSA has over the years intervened, investigated and resolved several challenges and complaints of shippers on daily basis in respect of Loss/damage to cargo; Cargo insurance claims; late arrival of shipping documents; Illegal charges levied on shippers.
Shipper complaints and support units
The Shipper Complaints and Support Units (SCSU) are established at strategic points of the country’s entry points to enable the GSA to provide real-time assistance to shippers who use these access routes and find solutions to challenges confronting them in the course of their business transactions. Five of the SCSUs at the Aviance Cargo Village, Elubo border, Takoradi Port and the Aflao and Paga borders have been so far been established and are in full operation.
The GSA also collaborates with the USAID West Africa Trade Hub to establish Border Information Centres (BIC). The BICs, currently at Aflao and Elubo Borders, provide information and assistance to traders with the simple aim of reducing delays and costs associated with moving vehicles and goods across the border.
Provision of shipping related information
The GSA regularly provides information through its publications such as the quarterly journal – Shipping Review, Admiral, Maritrade and the Maritime Trade & Transport Digest. These publications are widely distributed among shippers, freight forwarders, lawyers, government ministries, institutions of higher learning and the business community.
Maritime Infrastructure/Projects
One of GSA’s key objectives is to assist in the provision of up-to-date infrastructure to meet current developments and technological changes in the shipping industry. Consequently, the GSA has been undertaking the following projects to enable it meet the challenges of the maritime industry in the years ahead:
The Boankra Inland Port is being established near Kumasi to link the ports of Tema and Takoradi to the inner parts of the country and the landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. It is expected to, among other things, ease congestion at Ghana’s seaports, create employment opportunities and also facilitate the transit trade of Ghana’s land-locked neighbours.
Takoradi Logistics Platform project, a joint venture company under a PPP arrangement which is nearing completion is expected to deliver warehousing and other related services to companies engaged in Ghana’s oil and gas industry.
Construction of the GSA head office building in Accra, dubbed Shippers House, which is due to be completed by the end of 2014. The facility is also intended to house a Ship Brokerage hall, the first of its kind in West and Central Africa, which would facilitate the creation of a freight market, a Maritime Arbitration Centre and a Knowledge, Information and Resource Centre to provide up-to-date information on all international trade and transport matters.
A similar project in Takoradi dubbed the Takoradi Shippers’ Centre has been constructed and is in full operation. The Takoradi Shippers’ Centre also houses an information centre for the use of shippers.
The GSA has six large warehouses in a prime location at the Tema Harbour, to provide warehousing facilities to shippers especially shippers of landlocked countries transiting through the Tema port.
The GSA has a stake in the Ghana Community Network (GCNet) Services Limited. The GCNet provides an electronic platform which enables quick processing of all customs clearance documentation online and facilitates clearance of goods through the ports.
Activities on international scene
The GSA is a founding member of the Union of African Shippers’ Councils and it was recently elected to the position of Vice-chair of the Union. It continues to play a prominent role in the activities of the Maritime Organisation for West and Central Africa (MOWCA) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
Corporate social responsibility
The GSA has over the years embarked on numerous social responsibility activities with the view supporting and giving back to the shipping industry and the society in general. It has for instance donated computers with accessories, as well as established an Internet Café, and also a classroom block at the Regional Maritime University.
In addition, the GSA has constructed two six-classroom school blocks for the Boankra and Hwereso communities, donated whiteboards and accessories to the Bishop Mix JSS, assorted items to the Accra Psychiatric Hospital and also supported students of the University of Ghana Medical Students Association and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Future outlook
The GSA looks forward to strengthening its structures for the protection of the interests of the shipper through its negotiation mechanisms, research and development activities, information services and dissemination to shippers. The GSA will also continue its collaboration with the private sector for the development of major infrastructure for the shipping and logistics industry. Some of the key projects contemplated in the medium term include Freight Parks and Lay Bys along Ghana’s major transit corridors for haulage drivers to take mandatory breaks as well as provide warehousing facilities at strategic locations.
In 2012 the Parliament of Ghana passed the Ghana Shippers Authority Regulations L.I. 2190.
•In accordance with the said legislation the Authority has created a Consultative Machinery to meet periodically and deal with the numerous problems affecting shippers. The Authority has also in accordance with the said legislation started the processes towards implementation of the Advance Shipment Information System(ASHI) in Ghana. The ASHI is an electronic system by which international trade cargo both import and export is tracked and monitored prior to the departure or arrival of the cargo. It also ensures the provision of relevant shipment information to shippers in Ghana in real time to facilitate the commencement of pre-clearance processes with the view to avoiding the payment of demurrage and rent charges.
Conclusion
It is evident from the foregoing, that the GSA has for the four decades of its existence contributed immensely to the development of the international trade and transport industry of Ghana within the framework of its mandate. This fact is supported by the numerous laurels that the organisation has had conferred on it over the years including the Most Innovative Shippers Organisation (2008), Best Maritime Agency in Trade Facilitation (2008 & 2013), International Quality Crown Award in the Gold category at the BID Quality Convention in London (2012).
In spite of challenges such as financial constraints and lack of cooperation by some stakeholders in the shipping industry, the GSA is unwavering in its commitment to developing innovative solutions that would engender competitiveness for the shipper in Ghana and ultimately realise its vision of becoming a world class service organization that ensures for shippers in Ghana quick, safe and reliable delivery of import and export cargoes by all modes of transport at optimum cost.