Agents And Importers Serve Notice Of Demonstration

The Concerned Agents and Importers Association (CAIA) wants government to as a matter or urgency, retrieve the over GHC700million tax allegedly evaded by some companies operating at the port under the guise of Warehousing. The group is also calling for an overhaul of the Warehousing Policy to identify and prosecute all those involved in duping the nation. The CAIA is also demanding that government scrutinizes those consignments which go into the warehousing, warning that unscrupulous people could smuggle arms and drugs into the nation. Chairman of the group, Nana Kofi Poku, in a statement issued today, also reminded the government and the security agencies of an impending protest against the failure of government to implement real mechanisms and structures to decongest the ports, especially Tema. The group described the level of congestion at the Tema Port as frustrating, to the extent that a simple 20ft container can take more than a month to clear even when the importers have completed all the payments. They accused officers at the scanner of further delaying the process at the scanning area in addition to two (2) overworked scanners. Asked why the group would not rather dialogue instead of the demonstration, Nana Kofi Poku, said the concerned agents and importers have exhausted all avenues to dialogue; making reference to several interviews granted by the president of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders, Mr. Carlos Ahenkorah on their challenges and yet not much has changed.