President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (right)
President Akufo-Addo has indicated that plans are afoot to reduce the high duties at Ghana’s ports.
The President disclosed this over the weekend at a Town Hall meeting of Ghanaians resident in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
The meeting formed part of his itinerary on his visit to the US.
Importers have on countless occasions petitioned government to intervene and review the high taxes and duties on imported items.
President Akufo-Addo stated: “We have realised from the studies we have done that our ports are not competitive, and the import regime in our country is far too high. We are dealing with it, and very soon, the measures that government will roll out will become known to all of you. I am not talking next year, or in six months’ time, I am talking very, very soon.”
Some unions, including the Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA), have expressed concerns about the high import duties, saying it was business unfriendly.
Paperless reduces port charges
Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, maintained that the introduction of the paperless port system has reduced the cost of doing business at the ports.
Appearing before Parliament to answer a question posed by Kwame Agbodza, Member of Parliament (MP) for Adaklu on whether or not the introduction of the paperless ports had increased the cost of doing business at the ports, Mr Ofori-Atta indicated that the initiative had decreased the cost of doing business.
“The results of the paperless port system showed that the cost components of doing business at the country’s ports have reduced from seven to three cost components.
This has, subsequently, reduced the total costs from GH¢1,280 to GH¢320,” Ken Ofori-Atta said.
He said: “This means that the paperless system reduced the cost of doing business at the ports by GH¢960 representing 75 percent savings, hence importers are now making savings of 75 percent as a result of the implementation of the paperless system.”