Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association, Samson Asaki Awingobit, has accused the Transport Minister of the continued importation of excavators into Ghana, despite the importation ban on such equipment.

Speaking on The Pulse on JoyNews, while reacting to a JoyNews Research that uncovered large-scale night-time clearance of mass excavators at the Tema Port, Mr. Awingobit accused the Minister of Transport, Joseph Bukari Nikpe, of failing to act decisively.

“I must say that the Minister of Transport is one of the problematic ministers we have in the system. The Minister of Transport has contributed to what we are seeing now, this canker in the country,” he said.

According to him, the situation has created opportunities for middlemen linked to political parties to exploit importers.

“The Minister of Transport has created what we now have party boys and girls or middlemen who are running to these excavator importers and asking for money, promising to facilitate permits for clearance,” he alleged.

• Read also: Ghana is the highest importer of excavators in West Africa, 2nd in Africa – JoyNews Research

Mr. Awingobit said that the Minister should have taken firm and direct action against shipping lines and importers to ensure the ban was properly enforced.

“Let me state clearly that as the Minister of Transport, how do you say you have put an embargo or ban on excavator imports without giving clear instructions? You are supposed to write a letter strictly to the shipping lines and state that from this day onwards, if you are loading cargo from the port of origin, and it contains an excavator, and you bring it to my port, you will be penalised or banned from my port,” he explained.

He also insisted that there should have been public communication on the enforcement of the ban of the excavators

“He should have issued a statement and stated that any importer, from this date, if there is an excavator on a vessel at sea, it is exempted. Those who have already landed in the country are also exempted. But from this date onwards, if one loads a carrier or a vessel and that vessel arrives in my country, you will stand to pay penalties, and the importer too will be held responsible,” he said.

Mr. Awingobit stated that as a Minister of State, the Transport Minister must show clear authority in such matters.

“This is how a Minister of State does things explicitly, communicated. This is how a Minister of State is supposed to take charge and show authority,” he added.