Paperless operation at the port must work

Over the years, doing business at the ports in the country has been very daunting because of the bureaucracy associated with the handling of documents on imports in particular.

That is one of the reasons Ghana’s ranking on the Ease of Doing Business Index, as per a World Bank report, is low.

Apart from that, doing business at the ports is saddled with a lot of corrupt practices because, in the importer’s quest to break through the bureaucracy, the temptation to pay bribe and cut corners through various means is always high.

It is against this background that the government, as part of its desire to reduce the turnaround time, corruption and the bureaucracy at the ports, made a commitment to make all operations there paperless.

This new initiative is expected to commence on September 1, when the Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet), the e-Solutions provider for the government which developed and deployed the Ghana Customs Management System (GCMS) for the clearing of goods at the ports, and West Blue Consulting, in collaboration with the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), will deploy the Paperless Clearing System across all customs entry points in the country.

The new system requires that all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) that issue permits and/or exemptions before goods are imported into the country are linked onto the platform to issue them electronically.

Freight forwarders and other actors in the Customs clearing process have also been migrated onto the web-based platform, the Ghana Integrated Cargo Clearance System (GICCS).

The Daily Graphic is also informed that the exercise has become necessary because the clearing system introduced in 2004 to make Customs clearing seamless and paperless is being under-utilised by stakeholders and end users.

But, in spite of the good intentions of the government, this new policy is receiving some backlash because some actors within the ports have raised varied concerns over the impact of the new system on their work.

The Daily Graphic is not surprised at the agitation and protests against the new move, since many government initiatives meant to correct rotten systems have met the same reception.

What we should all understand is that the paperless clearing system means that all parties involved in valuation, classification of imports, issuance of permits, settlement of cash and all other activities relating to the clearing process will be web-based to facilitate a seamless system without recourse to much paperwork.

Most importantly, it will cut out human interference, which is inefficient and prone to malfeasance, a practice which has been going on at the ports for decades and denying the state what is due it.

There is nothing more refreshing than an electronic-based system with an audit trail that will track transactions in the system and ensure that very little or nothing slips by.
What we should all understand is that society is dynamic and must accept change in order to make progress.

In many developed and developing countries, paperless systems at the ports are the norm and more are being done to make them even better because the benefits to those countries are unimaginable.

We are also aware that when the implementation of such new initiatives begin, it comes with challenges, but we shall scale the hurdles if we commit to make the new system work.