Illegitimate charges in the shipping business would soon be a thing of the past following the passage of the legislative instrument (LI) 2190, 2012 into a law, the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) has said.
The deputy Chief Executive Officer of the GSA, Mr Emmanuel Mantey, who made the observation noted that the authority was confident the implementation of the LI, which was initiated by shippers and passed into a law last year, will help create the enabling environment for shippers to negotiate with other industry players on prices of services delivered.
An environment for negotiation will, thus, end previous instances where shipping lines or their agents and other service providers solely determined the prices of services rendered to shippers, he added.
He has, however, downplayed concerns from other industry players that the passage of the LI and its subsequent implementation was meant to disadvantage certain institutions in the local shipping business.
“Essentially, it is to provide for consultation between the authority and the shipping service providers,” Mr Martey said in Accra.
He made th remarks at the inauguration of the Ghana Chapter of Borderless Alliance (BA) on April 23.
The 13-member committee, headed by the Managing Director of DAMCO Logistics, Mr Frank Eshun, is to help reduce trade barriers at the country’s borders and in the process, bring down cost of business associated with the delayed transportation of goods into and out of the country.
The committee will meet occasionally to discuss the challenges associated with trade into and out of the country and find solutions to them, according to the president.
The inauguration of the Ghana Chapter of the BA brings to seven the number of chapters in the sub-region and all are to work closely with government and local institutions towards reducing delays, high charges and other challenges associated with the transportation of goods within.
Commenting on the LI, Mr Mantey said its relevance was to help shippers get the best services from their service providers.
“As we stand now, if a service provider charges you (a shipper) and he/she think that charge is unfair, the shipper won’t be able to complain because there’s no law that can be relied on.”
“That is what the LI is meant to cure; it is to remove these haphazard pricing of services in the industry,” Mr Mantey added.
The GSA is an advocacy body for shippers in the country and had, in the past, described as arbitrary certain charges paid by clearing and/or shipping agents on shippers under the guise of services delivered.
Story: Maxwell Adombila Akalaare
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