Monica Josiah (middle) in a group photograph with the participants
Head of Shippers’ Services and Trade Facilitation at the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), Monica Josiah, has noted that it would take a robust export sector to sustainably redeem the Ghana Cedi from its current predicament.
She said Ghana’s Cedi has, in recent times, suffered serious depreciation in relation to the Dollar and other foreign currencies with various groups calling on the government to redeem its fortunes.
But Mrs. Josiah stressed that a robust export sector cannot happen without the repatriation of export proceeds into the country to shore up the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
“This is the only sustainable way to build resilience and stabilise the Ghana Cedi for the macro-economic stability that we all desire as citizens,” she said.
She was speaking at a day’s sensitization seminar organized by the Ghana Shippers’ Association (GSA) in collaboration with the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for exporters in Ghana.
The seminar held in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital, aimed at boosting the exporters’ awareness about the BoG’s Letter of Commitment (LOC).
Its main objective was also to educate exporters on the procedures involved, promote compliance as well as identify and collate challenges associated with its LOC implementation to help improve the process.
The event brought together exporters, representatives from the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, (GEPA) Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Customs Division and Banks among others.
Mrs. Josiah, who spoke on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GSA, Ms. Benonita Bismarck, said following the introduction of the BOG’s LOC for the repatriation of export proceeds in 2016, the GSA received several complaints from exporters and some customs house agents on the challenges its implementation was having on their export businesses.
She said engagements with exporters on various platforms brought to the fore concerns including inadequate time allocated for the repatriation of export proceeds and blockage of subsequent export transactions for non-repatriation of proceeds beyond 60 days.
Exporters of perishable commodities by air have also complained about the quality of their consignments getting compromised due to delays associated with addressing LOC issues prior to shipment.
Deputy Shipper Manager, John Barker Amissah Glover, who spoke on behalf of the Ashanti Regional Branch Manager of GSA, Isaac Tersiah Ackwerh, said the GSA is commitment to equip exporters to be competitive on the international trading scene.
According to him, the GSA was working assiduously to establish a Shipper Complaint and Support Unit (SC&SU) at the Hamile border in the Upper West Region to educate shippers and address trading concerns at the border.
He continued that Hamile SC&SU, when established, would be among other SC&SU’s established along its major trading borders with Togo, Burkina Faso and Cote D’Ivoire to address cross-border trade issues.
FROM David Afum, Kumasi