The Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association, Sampson Awingobit, has described calls to suspend the Publican AI system at the ports as premature, urging stakeholders to engage the government through dialogue instead.

Speaking on The Pulse on JoyNews on Monday, April 13, Mr Awingobit said concerns raised by some freight forwarders and members of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) should be addressed through consultation rather than demands for a shutdown of port operations.

“I think that calling for the suspension of the product is premature. If there are issues, let’s go to the table,” he said.

His comments come amid threats by sections of the trading community to halt activities at the ports over concerns that the AI-powered valuation system is inflating the cost of imported goods.

Read also: Freight Forwarders announce 4-day strike at Tema Port over new AI system

However, Mr Awingobit argued that the system is correcting long-standing inconsistencies in the declaration of goods.

“It’s because the AI is now picking the real values,” he explained.

Using a practical example, he said disparities in declared values have created unfair advantages for some importers.

“If you and I go to a market to buy a product and I declare $10 while you declare $4, don’t you think you pay less than me?” he questioned, adding that the system is designed to detect such under-declarations.

He said that in cases where values fall within acceptable ranges, the system does not interfere.

“If it’s within the expected range, the system will not increase yours. It will rather block mine if I under-declare because the system knows the realistic price band,” he said.

According to him, the introduction of the Publican AI system is intended to bring fairness and sanity into the import sector.

“What it means is that there’s no parity, and so this will bring sanity into the industry,” he stated.

Mr Awingobit also urged importers to comply with regulations and continue clearing their goods, warning against any attempts to disrupt port activities.

“I want to use this medium to appeal to every importer: if you go to the port, go and clear your cargo. Nobody has the right to tell anyone not to clear their goods,” he said.

He added that compliant traders should not suffer losses due to the ongoing dispute.

“Those who are compliant should be given the opportunity to clear their cargo and not allow it to sit at the port and incur demurrage because of this situation,” he said.

While acknowledging that concerns have been formally presented to the government, Mr Awingobit welcomed ongoing engagement efforts.

“I’m happy that after the meeting, they have sent a petition to the Minister, and the Minister is ready to meet,” he said.

He called for fairness in assessing the government’s efforts to support the business community, citing recent tax relief measures.

“This is a government that has listened to the business community,” he said, pointing to the removal of levies such as the COVID-19 levy, E-levy, and adjustments in tax policies as evidence of that commitment.