The Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA) has indicated that the newly passed GSA Bill will improve the shipping industry in Ghana and fulfill the Authority’s mandate if assented by the President.
Mr. Emmanuel Kofi Arku, the Director of Business Development and Commercial Services at the GSA, speaking at a Ghana Ports and Authority (GPHA) media platform, said the law would empower the GSA to regulate shipping service provision within the country.
Mr. Arku noted that even though the GSA had addressed shippers’ challenges over the years, the new legislation provided more robust sanctions to ensure the decisive dealing with long-standing industry issues, particularly illegitimate charges and disputes between shippers and service providers.
He explained that among the key provisions of the new law is the bringing together of the establishment law, the Ghana Shippers Council Act, 1974 (NRCD 254), the Ghana Shippers’ Authority Regulations, 2012 (LI 2190), and others into a single, comprehensive legal framework.
He said the new legislation provided the GSA with the mandate to address unfair shipping charges compared to the current law, which allowed the Authority to highlight and negotiate disputes over unjustifiable fees but did not have the legal power to impose final determinations.
Mr. Arku said with the new law, the GSA was empowered to approve or reject charges that do not conform to international best practices, noting that that would help prevent the imposition of arbitrary fees such as administrative charges and container cleaning fees on shippers.
“You bring in clean cargo, yet you are still charged for container cleaning. Shippers are paying an excess of $20 to $30 million a month in these unjustified charges, money that could otherwise be reinvested into their businesses,” he stated.
Another key element of the new law, he said, was the introduction of a dispute settlement mechanism. Under the new framework, the Ghana Shippers’ Authority can make binding pronouncements on disputes between shippers and service providers, ensuring that business continues to flow smoothly.
The GSA’s Director of Business Development and Commercial Services said another key element of the new law was the introduction of a dispute settlement mechanism in which the GSA could make binding pronouncements on disputes between shippers and service providers, ensuring that business continued to flow smoothly as prolonged disputes result in significant delays and the accumulation of demurrage and other charges.
He said determinations reached for disputes under the new law would stand until it is overturned by a competent court, adding that this would relieve shippers from being in a worse situation when disputes arise, with the aim of promoting smoother operations in Ghana’s ports and other trade points.
The bill, he added, also emphasised the promotion of local content and participation in the shipping services sector by encouraging greater local involvement in the shipping services value chain, saying that they will soon come out with legislation and regulations that would allow Ghanaians to take charge of shipping businesses.
The new law also mandates transparency and accountability in the determination of port fees and charges.
By Laudia Sawer
GNA
