GRA receives customs laboratory mobile vans

Two of the country’s development partners, Germany and the Netherlands, have handed over two customs laboratory mobile vans to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to enable the institution to undertake quick on-the-spot testing of goods in warehouses and customs checkpoints.

The vans, procured under the cooperation between the Netherlands Embassy and the German development cooperation’s (GIZ’s) Good Financial Governance Programme in Ghana, also have the capacity to perform various functions along the revenue collection processes.

Tests the vans can perform include the detection of explosives present in cargo containers, the authenticity and origin of products and illegal imports such as narcotics, dangerous substances and contaminated foods.

Handover

At the handover ceremony in Accra yesterday, the Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Ron Strikker, said the gesture formed part of the Dutch government’s agenda to support Ghana’s development, especially in the area of revenue mobilisation.

“Mobile customs laboratories play an important role in facilitating trade and promoting security by providing rapid screening and identification of goods and potential risks at border checkpoints,” Mr Strikker said.

With the mobile customs laboratories, he said Ghana stood to benefit from a more secure flow of goods and increased revenue from international trade.

Mr Strikker also stressed the preparedness of the Netherlands government to assist Ghana in diverse ways in the country’s quest to attain its development goals.

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GRA grateful

The Commissioner General of the GRA, Mr Emmanuel Kofi Nti, who received the vans on behalf of the customs division, thanked the German and the Netherlands governments for supporting Ghana.

He said with the help of the vans, importers would have faster clearance due to the more secure and quicker customs scientific examination processes.

“The deployment of the mobile laboratories will improve the response time for goods that arrive through the outstations,” Mr Nti added.

He said the vans would also assist the customs division to combat smuggling because it had the capability to detect goods concealed in hidden or false compartments.