Destination Inspection Companies (DICs) are making a strong case for the renewal of their contracts after their operations at the country’s ports come to an end August 31.

The Trade and Industry Ministry in its letter to the DICs stated that government’s contract with all the five companies is due to end on 31^st August - for a new company, West Blue to operate a Single Window from the 1^st of September. 

Clearing Agents have kicked against this insisting it is the same kind of window GCNET is currently operating. The DICs have added their voices to this insisting their contracts rather ends after the transition period of three years as agreed with government.

 The Managing Director of Ghana-Link Network Services, Nana Asamoah Boadu explained exclusively to JOY BUSINESS. 

“August last year we met the Minister for Trade, Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister for Finance Seth Tekper, a Deputy Attorney General and a representative from the BNI and we were told that we were going to have a three-year phasing off period. So all of us started investing and making a lot of plans towards the three years. So we do not have the slightest idea that we will be going by the 31^st of August. We have memos to that effect. All of us”

The Deputy Managing Director of another DIC, Inspection and Control Services, ICS, Walter Onyango who doubles as the Secretary to the Joint Consultative Committee of the Destination Inspection Scheme Companies also justified why they need at least three years for the transition.

“Transition is not a plug-and-play kind of model. Certain things have happened. For example all the Destination Inspection Companies have been audited by no less [an institution] than KPMG in their operations audit and IT systems and we all saw this as part of a capacity review for a transition to customs. We were also expecting that a capacity readiness assessment of customs would also be undertaken so that we can develop a proper status quo of the gap analysis that exist between what is happening now and what we think is to be.

"And we are looking at this in the context of all the services that we provide from procedural issues like classification, valuation in accordance with certain concepts and all the way onto provision of non-intrusive scanning systems” he explained.

The DICs insist they have not received the requisite briefing on the Single Window supposed to be implemented by West Blue.  They admit the initiative is the prerogative of government but are urging caution in the planned implementation.

Mr. Onyango again; “At this point what we would advocate as an industry is a cautionary approach to significant changes in the industry. But I am sure that government in its wisdom has looked at the whole destination inspection scheme, services like ours and single window services. Let’s not forget that currently there are suspended programmes like G-CAP, the Ghana Conformity Assessment Programme and the Advanced Shipment Information Systems – ASHI.

"All these things are coming to one industry and there is going to be significant cost, possibly change management issues involved and we think, and we would know that perhaps government is considering all these issues before making full disclosure to the key stakeholders on what the way forward is” he concluded.