President of ACHAG admonishes Freight Forwarders to work with integrity

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The President of the Association of Custom House Agents Ghana (ACHAG), Yaw Kyei, has entreated members of the freight forwarding fraternity to maintain integrity in carrying out their duties.

He made this admonition while assessing the paperless system during a one-year review forum in Accra.

The President of ACHAG said, he is pleased with the progress that has been made by the Paperless initiative, saying it has reduced cost and improved the ease of doing business.

Mr. Yaw Kyei, admitted that, although there are some challenges associated with other stakeholders in the paperless system, some responsibility should be taken by freight forwarders.

He revealed that, some illegal practices of fellow freight forwarders make the system cumbersome and impossible for the trade community to harness the full benefits of the system.

“This brings me to the point of my own people, I must confess that we have been a great stumbling block to achieving the 50% mandatory inspections. I can sight examples of my people who have been arrested for misdescriptions, non-disclosures, in some cases misapplication of HS codes,” he said.

He asked that, regulatory agencies should endeavor to put in place adequate punitive measures that would deter potential culprits.

“Those arrested should be severely punished and publicly shamed. Alternatively, those who are regularly compliant should also be highly motivated to rope in others to do same. I also highly recommend strengthening of intelligence networks at the ports”, he added.

He said the behaviors of some unscrupulous agents eclipse the reputation of the good, law-abiding ones.

The President of ACHAG, urged importers to consult reputable agents so that they would never fall in the hands of the wrong ones.

“While saying this, we also encourage importers to go to properly furnished offices. Let’s stop just seeing anybody walking by the roadside or holding a bag. At times they even negotiate duties and charges as if it is tomatoes you are buying from the market,” he expressed.

He urged the freight forwarders that once everyone does the right thing, the state would retrieve its due revenue, and importers would have faith in the system, which would in turn bring more business to the industry.

“Whether we like it or not, it goes against all of us, so I am taking this opportunity to advice our clearing agents, please let us organize ourselves better, let us have offices, let us manage our business. Whether we like it or not there is money in this business, we have to be frank. It is a service area where you can make money if you organize yourself better’’ he added.

Source: BestNewsGH.com

 

 

 


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Kennedy Mornah is an Award Winning Ghanaian Journalist with over two decades of experience in the Ghanaian Media landscape spanning the electronic, print and digital media. He is a Media Consultant, a Corporate MC, Radio and TV Host, Founder and Publisher of the Maritime and Transport Digest Newspaper, Businessman, a Go getter and an optimist. He has worked for renowned media organizations including Diamond Fm in Tamale, Luv Fm in Kumasi, Oman Fm in Accra and Starr Fm in Accra In 2017 he received the Reporter of the Year Award at the Ghana Shippers Awards in Accra, Ghana.

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