Government takes steps to improve paperless system

The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has announced plans by the government to improve the paperless clearance system at ports with the introduction of some sweeping reforms to help better the system.

Towards that end, he said effective July 1, this year, inspection agencies at ports would be reduced from 16 to three entities that will include the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), and Ghana Standards Authority (GSA).

All other agencies such as the National Security and Narcotic Control Board (NACOB) will be fused into the main three to carry out joint inspections,” he explained.
This is part of major reforms to the paperless port clearing system after it was reviewed by relevant stakeholders in the sector.

The vice-president disclosed this at the 2018 Accra Mall Mobex Technology Expo held last Wednesday, June 13, in Accra.

He also noted that the compliance stage of the clearance process had been abolished since it was no longer needed under the new paperless system.

That function, Dr Bawumia said, would be undertaken by the Customs Technical Services Bureau (CTSB).

“We have established a task force to monitor the implementation of the paperless system at the ports on a daily basis and provide reports for action where bottlenecks arise,” he said.

Customs circumventing paperless system

Since the introduction of the paperless port clearing system in September last year, he stated that some persons within the import and export shipping business, including customs officials, were still influencing it through various human interventions to enrich themselves at the expense of the country.

“While we are on a mission to digitise Ghana, we have to be very aware that new systems will only be as good as the people who implement them.

“New systems disrupt the status quo and, therefore, one can expect push back from beneficiaries of the status quo. Our experience with the implementation of the paperless system at the ports is a case in point,” he said.

The vice-president warned operators at the ports to eschew corruption and work hand in hand with the authorities to ensure the success of the paperless port system.
“It is clear that notwithstanding the new systems that have been implemented, there are concerted efforts to circumvent the paperless system both by customs officials and other government officials.

“The success of government’s digitisation agenda depends as much on the robustness of the technology as the people implementing them, and a concerted effort must be made to ensure the two go hand in hand,” he added.