The Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) has urged police personnel to uphold laws and agreements that allow landlocked countries access to the sea through Ghana’s transit corridors.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), Ms Benonita Bismarck, in a speech read on her behalf at a police training seminar in Ho, reiterated the economic benefits transit trade gives to Ghana.
“A study conducted by GSA in 2015 indicated that a total revenue of $34 million was accrued to Ghana’s economy from some quantifiable services provided by stakeholders in the transit trade sector,” she added.
That, according to her, is contrary to the widely held perception that the country does not derive any benefit from transit trade through its corridors.
On his part, the Ho Regional Commander of the Ghana Police Service, DCOP Andres Badu-Ekumah, reiterated the desire of the Ghana Police Service to complement the effort of GSA to ensure safety and security on Ghana’s transit corridors.
Officers identified persisting challenges along transit routes like Burkina Faso and Niger, including highway robbery, customs clearance delays and harassment of truck drivers and pledged to collaborate with GSA and other stakeholders to improve transit trade.
The seminar forms part of efforts by the Authority to ensure that the country’s transit corridors remain the preferred routes for landlocked countries to boost the economy as well as Ghana’s image in the international community.
The seminar sought to educate around 60 senior police officers on the importance of the transit trade and their role in ensuring its smooth flow. Presentations covered Ghana’s gains from transit trade and the police service’s responsibilities related to corridor security and traffic management.
Relevant legislation includes UN transit trade conventions, ECOWAS interstate transport agreements and World Trade Organisation accords.
Other legislations include the UNCTAD Convention on the Transit Trade of Landlocked Countries (1965), the International Convention on Multimodal Transport of Goods (1980), the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1994), the ECOWAS Convention on the Inter-State Road Transit of Goods (ISRT) (1982) and the World Trade Organization Agreement (WTO) (2013) among others.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
