Customs Officers are having a tough time controlling clearing agents at the Tema port four days into the implementation of the paperless systems as some are still to get clearance for their goods.
Several complaints are still to be addressed by the service.
There was bedlam today September 7, 2017, as angry clearing agents verbally attacked Custom Officers while agitating against delay in the processes.
“We have been here since Monday and nothing is working. We don’t know who to talk to. Custom officers tell us to calm down; my brother I have calmed down since Monday. I can’t calm down again,” Solomon Debrah, a clearing agent told Starr Business Osei Owusu Amankwaah.
Another clearing agent, Afia Yeboah said “I have paid all the necessary duties online and I have been asked to come here. I have been here since yesterday and nobody is listening to me. What kind of service are they rendering? If the country is not ready for paperless why force it on the poor clearing agent.”
Meanwhil, the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders is calling for the establishment of localized solution centers within the port of Tema to assist in addressing challenges being faced by importers and clearing agents in the aftermath of the implementation of the paperless system.
President of the Institute, Kwabena Ofosu Appiah, believes the apprehension by many industry players with regards to the implementation of the system will be assuaged with these call centers or localized solution centers in place.
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