By Lawrencia Akoto Frempong
Tema, Nov. 05, GNA – The Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), the Association of Customs House Agents of Ghana (ACHAG), and all allied trade associations have begun a three-day protest shipping lines over their refusal to review some shipping costs and processes.
Following the Associations’ protest on September 24, demanding an end to the shipping lines imposition of illegitimate fees on the Ghanaian trader, giving them a 14-day ultimatum to review what they deem as the shipping line’s exploitative charges and unfair business practices.
Mr Kwabena Ofosu Appiah, a former President of the GIFF, at a press conference said the Ship Owners and Agents Association of Ghana (SOAAG) responded to their protest letter, without showing a favourable course of action concerning their demands and denied any wrongful conduct that amounted to the alleged exploitation.
Mr Appiah noted that they demanded the abolishment of all arbitrary and unjustifiable fees, the termination of demurrage charges on weekends and holidays, and the provision of 24-hour, seven-day a week service by the shipping lines, to eliminate unnecessary delays, ensuring timely processing of goods on weekends and public holidays.
He also mentioned that the SOAAG in their responses also drew an illogical distinction between pegging fees against a foreign currency and charging in that foreign currency, stating that the distinction was non-existent, since the bills were ultimately paid based on the prevailing exchange rate at the time of payment.
“Whether the fee is pegged to or directly charged in a foreign currency, the amount the billed party pays will fluctuate depending on the currency’s value, making the financial outcome effectively the same,” he said.
He added that the failure of the shipping lines to take corrective action concerning their demands was a clear message that they are happy to continue reaping unmerited profits at the expense of the Ghanaian economy.
Mr Appiah further said that the freight forwarders and the trading community would be staging a series of picketings at the premises of the various shipping lines, including Hapag-Lloyd, Arkas, Hull Blyth, PIL, and Cosco.
“These peaceful sit-ins will serve as a physical reminder of the frustrations we face and our collective determination to see these unfair fees abolished while making sure our partners across Africa have taken notes of our crusade and are preparing to initiate similar agitation in their respective countries,” he said.
The former GIFF President commended President Akufo-Addo for assenting the Ghana Shipper’s Authority (GSA) Act 2024, expressing the hope that the protest would birth effective enforcement of the law to help facilitate business operations at the ports.
He called on the government of Ghana, the Ministries of Transport, as well as Trade and Industry, the Ghana Shippers Authority, and all relevant authorities to intervene decisively, with immediate actions taken to ensure that the shipping lines are held accountable and all illegitimate fees abolished, as well as safeguard Ghana’s trade and logistics sectors from further exploitation.
He stressed that GIFF would continue to hold the shipping lines accountable and would not rest until the end of these exploitative practices, while ensuring that Ghana’s trade community would no longer be subjected to unjust and exploitative practices of multinational shipping cooperations.
GNA