Ghana has been described as a leading example of progress that can be made with a good integrated national single window programme.
The country has also made substantial gains on key international indicators such as the World Bank’s trading across borders and logistics performance index.
Trade Facilitation expert, Tom Butterly who is also a retired senior official of the World Trade organisation told Starr Business Ghana has performed well as far as trade facilitation reforms are concerned.
‘’Ghana’s performance in trade facilitation speaks for itself. On the key international indicators such as the World Bank trading across borders in doing business report and also the World Bank Logistics Performance Index.
“These are directly related to some of the facilitations that has been implemented under the Ghana National Single Window particularly the Pre Arrival Assessment Report (PAARS). It has reduced the time for pre arrival assessment from two weeks to two days and this is very powerful,’’ he noted.
He said Ghana had made some substantial gains in trade facilitation within the last one year alone.
Mr. Butterly who was in the country as one of the international speakers and facilitators at the 2nd national single window conference at the instance of WestBlue consulting, technical partners of the customs division of the Ghana Revenue Authority was full of praise for the country noting “You have more than 150 businesses here in this conference and only few countries can do that. Business people will only come if they believe something is happening so I commend Ghana for this great initiative and the strides it has made.’’
WCO commendation
The deputy director for procedures and facilitation at the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Luc De Blieck on his part said Ghana was making great progress in implementing one of the most important articles of the Trade Facilitation agreement which is the single window environment.
According to him, the single window also has everything to do with good coordinated border management of government agencies.
“There is also a high data driven element in using the single window and what is also of utmost importance is stakeholder engagement from the private sector and experts’’ he intimated.
According to him, the WCO has developed tools, instruments and guidelines which emanates from the single window compendium which is the WCO data model and provides guidance on the stakeholder engagements among others.
