Hundreds of members of importers and exporters on Tuesday hit the streets of Tema Main Harbour enclave to demonstrate against the exploitative practices by shipping lines operating in the country.
They protestors were drawn from the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), the Association of Customs House Agents of Ghana, Freight Forwarders Association of Ghana and the Customs Brokers Association of Ghana, with several trade associations and concerned stakeholders.
The protestors, clad in red, held placards, some of which read: ‘E no be your fault; E be Ghana wey dey condone nonsense’, ‘shipping lines and pirates no difference, just landing’, ‘shipping lines are predators’ and ‘scrap local charges charged in USD now’.
They complained that the imposition of arbitrary charges such as local administrative fees, container cleaning fees and empty container fees by the shipping lines are ‘silly’ charges that need immediate scrapping.
Dubbed ‘Shipping Line Demo’, the protestors said the charges which are pegged at GH¢18 to USD1 by the shipping lines, violates the Bank of Ghana’s regulations on pricing of locally derived services.
Chanting ‘Yentua biom’, to wit, “we won’t pay again,” the protestors, with police escort, marched to the offices of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Intermodal Shipping Agencies Ghana Limited, CMA CGM, Grimaldi Ghana Limited and Maersk Line, all shipping lines, to present their petitions, which gave the recipients fourteen days ultimatum to abolish the exploitative charges.
Addressing the media, Kwabena Ofosu Appiah, a former GIFF President said “We are calling for the immediate cessation of demurrage charges on weekends and public holidays, which unfairly penalise businesses during non-working days, when clearance processes are halted.
“We are demanding a refund of all demurrage fees that have been levied during these periods because the charges are unjustifiable and harmful to businesses.”
Another grave concern the local freight forwarders raised was the repatriation of forex earnings by the shipping lines, which they argued, is contributing to the country’s foreign exchange difficulties and weakening the local currency and further burdening the national economy, consequently making it harder for Ghanaian businesses to compete both locally and internationally.
“These practices have stifled the potential growth of Ghana’s shipping sector, severely impacting businesses and crippling the financial well-being of numerous stakeholders within the supply chain,” Ofosu Appiah said.
The aggrieved logistics players held that the positive outcome of their protest would improve the efficiency of Ghana’s logistics and supply chain and help stabilise the local currency and lower the cost of goods for consumers.
“This is not just an industry issue. It’s a national issue and we are doing this to send a warning to all the players involved to listen to us because we are not going to rest,” Ofosu Appiah ended.
