The Vice President of the Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA), Joseph Paddy, has welcomed the decision by the Ghana Shippers’ Authority to postpone the implementation of the revised Container Administrative Charge until July 1.

Mr Paddy insists the fee should be scrapped completely.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Friday, May 15, Mr Paddy described the postponement as only a temporary relief for businesses already struggling with high port charges.

“Half a loaf is better than none,” he said.

• Read also: Ghana Shippers’ Authority postpones revised container charge to July

According to him, the business community had initially pushed for the complete removal of the administrative charge, but the Ministry of Transport and the Ghana Shippers’ Authority instead proposed a temporary reduction and further stakeholder consultations.

“We were looking for the total scrap of those charges, but by the wisdom of the shipping authority and then the Trade Ministry, they proposed to pull it down to July so that we have a stakeholder engagement again,” he explained.

Mr. Paddy said that the cost of doing business at Ghana’s ports remains far higher than in neighbouring countries, making Ghana less competitive within the sub-region.

He revealed that he was part of a delegation that travelled to other West African countries to compare port charges and operational costs.

“We went to Togo, we went to Nigeria, we went to the Ivory Coast, and we saw that ours is on the higher side,” he said.

According to him, the findings were later presented to the Ghana Shippers’ Authority for consideration.

One of the major concerns raised by GUTA is the Container Administrative Charge imposed by shipping lines, which Mr. Paddy said is not charged in neighbouring countries despite the same shipping companies operating across the region.

“Most of the ships that patronise our ports are the same ships that patronise our neighbouring countries. But they don't charge this administrative fee,” he stated.

He explained that importers in Ghana are charged $165 per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container as an administrative fee.

“And this administrative fee is a local charge, but they charge it in dollar terms,” he said.

Mr. Paddy questioned why importers should pay additional administrative charges locally when such costs are already embedded in freight charges.

“How do you charge an administrative fee when we have paid our freight? Because embedded in our freight are administrative fee,” he said.

He further criticised the practice of charging the fee per container rather than per bill of lading.

“So just imagine you have about 100 containers on one bill of lading. You are paying 165 by 100, which is about 16,500 for the administrative fee,” he said.

According to him, following consultations with the Ministry of Transport, authorities agreed to reduce the charge temporarily from $165 to $65 pending further discussions.

“The Minister of Transport said we should knock off the $100 so that we stay at the $65,” he explained.

However, Mr Paddy insisted that the business community still wants the charge removed entirely.

“With the business community, we are saying that it should be scrapped because there’s no sense, there’s no point in paying this administrative fee,” he said.

He disclosed that some workers within shipping lines had petitioned the government against the planned removal of the fee, prompting authorities to halt the process temporarily.

“The position is that a group of workers from shipping lines has petitioned the government and the Minister of Transport. So based on that, we have to halt the scrapping of the administrative fee that we look into it,” he said.

Mr Paddy also accused shipping lines of making huge profits from administrative and demurrage charges imposed on importers in Ghana.

“If I tell you the amount of money that they are flying out of this country by these administrative charges, you have no idea,” he claimed.

He further criticised the continued charging of demurrage fees during weekends, public holidays and even periods when businesses were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Even on weekends when they are not working, they are charging demurrage. On holidays that the government says today is a holiday, they will charge you demurrage,” he complained.

“When COVID came, and we were all not working, the shipping lines were still charging demurrage,” he added.

Mr Paddy said that the high cost of doing business at Ghana’s ports is driving importers and transit traders to neighbouring countries.

He said that landlocked countries such as Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, which previously relied heavily on Ghana’s ports, are increasingly diverting cargo elsewhere because of the high charges.

“The cost of doing business at our port is expensive, and they are running away,” he said.

He compared Ghana’s ports with those of neighbouring Togo, saying the difference in shipping traffic was significant.

“If you go to Togo and see the number of ships on their seashore, you have no idea,” he stated.

According to him, Ghana risks losing more business opportunities unless urgent steps are taken to reduce port charges and improve competitiveness.

“We want to make our port very attractive so that we have more cargoes, more people patronising our ports,” he said.

“So, if we can get rid of some of these charges and make our ports attractive, it will be useful for all of us. This is what we are looking forward to,” he added.