The Ghana Shippers' Authority (GSA) has contacted the state organizations in charge of the Namoo border in the Upper East Region regarding difficulties that shippers encounter there.
Yam, livestock, and motorcycles are the main import and export commodities across the border.
The Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Department (PPRSD), and the Ghana Immigration Services (GIS) were involved in the engagement because their operations are essential to the facilitation of transit trade.
The GSA is taking steps to understand the ongoing decline in transit trade between Ghana and Burkina Faso as well as other nearby countries, as evidenced by the visit to the three (3) agencies at the Namoo border post on Tuesday, January 17, 2023.
Data from the State Insurance Commission (SIC) show that in the first two quarters of 2022, there were fewer declarations for which bonds were issued, falling from 8,430 to 8,052. In the third quarter of 2022, the number dropped even more, to 6,257. Additionally, the data showed that Burkina Faso was the main country for which Ghana's ports shipped transit cargo during that year.
The team from the GSA assessed the difficulties shippers faced in their operations during separate meetings with the three agencies in order to take those issues into account when providing policy advice. The difficulties include issues with compliance[BN1], poor road conditions, low volume, and mobile network outages.
According to Mr. Frederick Atogiyire, manager of the GSA's Tamale branch, the Authority visited Tamale in order to learn more about the activities of the parties involved in transit trade at the border post. He reaffirmed the GSA's willingness to work with the stakeholders to help cross-border traders and other industry participants understand the importance of adhering to the rules that govern the transit trade sector.