Private sector importers and exporters have enjoined parliament to, as a matter of urgency, pass the Ghana Shippers’ Authority Regulations 2011 to reduce hikes in the cost of doing business at the ports. According to the Shippers Committee, the passage of the legislation is critical in streamlining charges and quality assurance in service provision, which will lead to an increase in government revenue. In 2010 alone, importers paid an estimated US$300 million in shipping agent’s container charges, congestion surcharge and other illegitimate surcharges to foreign shipping agents operating in Ghana. “The shippers suffer at the hands of some clearing and forwarding agents by paying unwarranted charges but receive poor services from the clearance and forwarding of their goods,” noted the Committee. The National Conference of Chairpersons of the Shippers’ Committee was held in Kumasi to deliberate on problems affecting the shipping industry in Ghana. In a resolution the group stated that the unfair commercial practices of some shipping service providers continue to inflect untold hardships on shippers in particular, and consumers in general. “No individual or group of persons must be allowed to continue to perpetrate their illegitimate and indiscriminate charges on hardworking shippers of Ghana, through which the country loses millions of dollars annually and puts its economy under enormous pressure,” it stated. Members are optimistic the regulation will help “curb the spate of unwarranted, indiscriminate and arbitrary charges by some shipping service providers.” In an interview with Luv Biz Report, the Ashanti Regional Chairperson, Joseph Amoah noted that the regulatory framework would empower the Ghana Shippers Authority to effectively manage the sector.