The Ghana Union of Traders’ Association (GUTA) is contacting on the authorities to strongly attractiveness to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and shipping and delivery lines to give unconditional waivers on demurrage and lease rates all through the lockdown time period.
In a assertion, the Association complained that inspite of the lockdown impacting Bigger Accra, Tema, Kasoa and Greater Kumasi, eventually top to the closure of their firms, shipping traces which were exempted from the constraints “are inquiring that because they are however performing, our customers whose merchandise have arrived at the ports need to apparent them or pay back demurrage if the containers continue to stay at the ports for the duration of this lockdown period.”
“The Ghana Ports and Harbor Authority is also asking importers to distinct their goods from their warehouses or spend even more hire expenses,” GUTA pressured.
This, GUTA stated, has been really challenging on them as the closure of its members’ corporations in adherence to the lockdown techniques has left lots of of them with small to no money to shell out the obligations at the Ports.
In accordance to the GUTA, regardless of persistent phone calls through the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ghana Shippers Authority to the GPHA and Transport strains, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
“It is pretty unhappy that to them it is business as common even though the importer, since of the countrywide fascination, is adhering to government’s directives so as to assure that we all battle this quite contagious pandemic together,” the assertion browse.
GUTA is, as a result, inquiring the govt to waive the demurrage and hire fees unconditionally for the duration of this lockdown period so that their users are not forced to clear their items and open their outlets and warehouses to offload their products.
“We will also suggest that inspite of the reality that federal government companies like GRA, GPHA and many others. want profits, they cannot place the lives of Ghanaians in risk so we ask that governing administration orders that consignments that type aspect of critical goods only have to be cleared although all other folks should be held on till the finish of the lock down except underneath unique dispensation,” the statement concluded.
The whole assertion is revealed underneath.
