Shippers seek minimal review of port charges
The Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) has commenced negotiations with the Ghana Ports and Habours Authority (GPHA) aimed at ensuring that a scheduled review of charges at the ports is not arbitrary to the shipper community.
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The negotiations are expected to help avert the possibility of an exorbitant increase in charges for services rendered at the port, which could translate into high costs for shippers and consequently result in increment in prices of imported items nationwide.
Currently, indications from the GPHA, the landlords of Ghana’s ports and habour infrastructure, showed that the authority is pushing for an increment that will range between 15 percent and 20 per cent , depending on the item and/service in question.
Although the Chief Executive Officer of the GSA, Dr Emmanuel Kofi Mbiah, said that the review was necessary, the GSA was concerned about its impact on prices of items.
With the cedi depreciating by 18 per cent between January and March, this year, and the general cost of doing business going up as a result of myriad of economic challenges, Dr Mbiah told the GRAPHIC BUSINESS that an increment in port charges must be expected.
“Let us not pretend. things have been difficult and cost of doing business is going up here and there. The cedi is now four cedis to the one US dollar and so we do not expect GPHA to be applying the old charges. But what we are looking at a situation where the increment will not put our members at a disadvantaged position,” he said in an interview.
Present charges
The review in charges is an annual event by the GPHA, which oversees the operations of the country’s twin-seaports – the Tema and Takoradi ports – aimed at ensuring that monetary compensations for services rendered at the ports are commensurate with their costs incurred in rendering them.
It is expected to impact on all the three segments of kinds of trade; imports, exports, and transit trade, which refers to goods meant for neighbouring landlocked countries but using the Tema and Takoradi ports as gateways.
Charges on items such as vehicles, empty and stuffed containers, frozen fish and meat, crude oil and other petroleum products would be affected should the two bodies finanlise their negotiations, Dr Mbiah said.
Currently, charges on first schedule items such as minerals, vegetables and their derivatives, non-traditional exports (NTEs) and cement range from US$0.62 per a ton to US$78 for unpacked vehicles and trailer units.
The 2014 port tariff sheet from the GPHA, which is being applied, also showed that habour rents for berthing at any of the two ports for vessels with length overall (LOA) between 100 meters and 250 meters and above ranges between US$177 and US$1,412.5 for the first 24 hours and US$88.5 and US$706.5 respectively for any additional 12 hours or part thereof. —
