GCNet Shuts Down Monday …Fear Grip Importers & Ports Users
A letter from government has instructed GCNet and West Blue, to wind down their trade facilitation and single window operations by end of this month, meaning the country would suffer another incident of disruptions in trade facilitation and revenue generation activities at the Tema Ports as the incoming vendor, Ghana Link/UNIPASS-ICUMS is still having major challenges and has not been able to set up and take over from the existing vendors.
The Acting Commissioner General for the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah in a signed letter issued to all port stakeholders instructed that all transactions without exception in respect of import/export shall only be processed from ICUMS.
“Effective 1st June 2020, all shipping Lines/Agents are to submit manifest into ICUMS for vessels arriving at/departing from the Tema Port”, the letter also stated.
In view of the directive, GCNet, according to the paper’s sources will be shutting down on Monday to allow Ghana Link/UNIPASS-ICUMS to take over the single window operations at the Tema port.
By the morning of Monday June, 1 when the GCNet system shuts down, it would result in another total freeze of clearing of all goods and all trade facilitation activities as happened a few weeks ago when a letter from the office of Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Marfo instructed the company to stop work and hand over to Ghana Link/UNIPASS-ICUMS.
The exact motive of the new directive to shut down is not yet clear but what is certain is that it would lead to another avoidable revenue loss at a time the country is in real need of all available financial resources.
No Consensus
The New Publisher has gathered that there have been a couple of meetings between the Trade Ministry and GCNet and also between the Office of the Senior Minister, Ghana Link/UNIPASS-ICUMS and official of CEPS but in all instances, there was no consensus that the GCNet contract which ends in 2023 should be respected in its entirety.
Rather there have been suggestions and proposals to GCNet for the company to offer all manner of behind the scene support services as the Ghana Link/UNIPASS-ICUMS team can work as be seen as effective.
Government, is bent on implementing the Ghana Link/UNIPASS-ICUMS system despite clear and proven incidents that the company is simply not ready to take over now and would need time to setup.
Despite several assurances given the Presidency that Ghana Link/UNIPASS-ICUMS can take off smoothly without the assistance of GCNet and West Blue, there was a major embarrassment and all manner of chaos when that attempt was made.
It resulted in a complete crippling of the ports and for two and a half days, not a single revenue came from the Tema Ports.
Eventually, government had to fall on the existing vendors and ask them to step in to save the situation.
This new directive for another shut down, is nothing but an economically suicidal decision and government intentionally scoring an own-goal, barely 6 months to general elections.
Reports On Ghana Link/UNIPASS-ICUMS
Meanwhile simulation reports on Ghana Link/UNIPASS-ICUMS at the Tema Ports are embarrassingly poor and horrible, far away from anything satisfactory.
Find below a glimpse of one of such simulation reports:
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