Freight Forwarders in the country have blamed the duplication of works at the Tema Port on the activities of West Blue Consulting and GCNet .
According to them, there appears to be some tension between the two companies tasked to provide validation services and help in the implementation of the Single Window Project.
Appealing to the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to help address the issue, the President of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF) Mr. Kwabena Ofosu-Appiah stated at conference in Accra that the turf war is getting unhealthy for revenue mobilization.
“Why should two traders buying from the same source on the same conveyance be handed two contrasting outcomes, this does not build well for compliance, it forces those who want to be compliant to go out fishing,” he pointed out.
Mr. Ofosu-Appiah explained that “there are two major IT solution providers– that is West Blue and GCNet. The fact that they have two different terms of reference known under different conditions deliver a problem.
He stated that the conflict between the two companies emanate from the sector ministries that supervise them.
“The mandate of West Blue Consulting is from the Finance Ministry through GRA while that of GCNet is under Trade Ministry. The government of Ghana is the ultimate client but the truth of the matter is that there is always tension between the two anytime they must cooperate to deliver a seamless solution for the larger course,” he narrated.
Citing some examples, Mr. Ofosu-Appiah said that there have many instances where the activities of one company had been usurped and given to the other.
“A case in point was when the IBF module was plugged off from GCNet platform to the Ghana Trading Hub that is the Pre-arrival Assessment Reporting Systems(PAARS). Another classic case is the call of manifest onto PAARS platform creating anxiety within GCNet which used to have the manifest”.
“The two scenarios justify a turf war, because one can only survive if their bargaining powers are intact. But while they are at it trade facilitation as well as port efficiency suffers with its attendant cost,” he warned.
Mr. Ofosu-Appiah made the assertions in the presence of stakeholders and the Vice President, Dr. Bawumia.
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By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana