GRA, Korea Customs Sign MoU For Skills Transfer

Emmanuel Kofi Nti and Kim Young Moon exchanging the agreement while Isaac Crentsil (left) and Ambassador Kim Sungsoo look on

THE GHANA Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Korea Customs Service (KCS) have signed an agreement that will see the modernization of Ghana’s Customs Service.

The modernization process is expected to further enhance efficiency in revenue mobilization under the UNI-PASS system.

The Agreement signed in Accra will give Ghana customs officers the opportunity to access various aspects of training as well as receive technology assistance, share data and updates on the customs front for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

Speaking at the short signing ceremony on Friday, April 5, in Accra, Commissioner General, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Emmanuel Kofi Nti, said the authority’s priority is to improve revenue mobilization by building capacity of staff, increasing surveillance and strengthening international ties.

He said “achieving all these requires learning from other institutions for benchmarking and best practices.”

“I am sure there are various measures which Korea Customs Service has applied and this led to significant improvement in revenue collection and GRA wish to tap in order to shore up revenue mobilization in the country,” he said.

Commissioner, Customs Division of the GRA, Isaac Crentsil, said the country’s customs has over the years adopted and undertaken several initiative including the use of the single window system with electronic documentation and the application of the paperless port clearing.

This, he said, had opened the country’s economy to the world as a gate way to doing business in ECOWAS Sub-region.

“The increased volumes of international trade have lead to voluminous export and import transactions and activities … common sense therefore demands that Ghana looks for countries that can share idea and technology transfer,” he stated.

Kim Sungsoo, Korean Ambassador to Ghana, in his statement touted the Korea customs UNI-PASS’s ranking as one of the top ten in the world for ease of business and also one of the best holistic and comprehensive custom systems to boost trade facility and custom management.

He commended the chair of the economic management team, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, for following through to ensure that the introduction of the system received cabinet approval.

“I sincerely hope that the UNI-PASS when implemented will give efficient and tailor made system to provide a comprehensive national single window platform for Ghana to have its custom operation,” he said.

Ambassador Sungoon further noted that the collaboration between the two countries will also enhance best practices at the ports and ultimately impact positively on President Akufo-Addo’s agenda of a Ghana Beyond Aid.

“Adding value to export from Ghana, digitizing and modernizing the economy as this MoU seeks to achieve are all geared towards achieving this agenda and the republic of Korea is proud to support such initiative,” he stressed.

Commissioner, Korea Customs Service, Kim Young Moon, expressed delight at the finalization of the knowledge and technology transfer agreement between the two countries, adding that once the system is fully operational, there would be a lot of improvement in revenue collection.

By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri

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