The stakeholders included the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Meridian Ports Services, Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana Standard Authority, Veterinary Services, Navy, Police, National Security, National Intelligence Bureau, and freight forwarders, among others.

Assistant Commissioner Christiana Odi Adjei, Tema Collection Sector Commander of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), said in a welcome speech that the JCCC was created as a medium through which all stakeholders in the port could interact seamlessly and channel the challenges faced in their daily operations.

Assistant Commissioner Adjei said these challenges were then addressed by the appropriate institutions to enhance the turnaround time of port clearance and to also promote cordial working relations among the agencies.

She said the in-person engagements of the committee were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that management of the Tema Collection deemed it fit to resume the in-person engagement again after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 no longer high-risk.

She said the JCCC was of priority to GRA, especially the Customs Division, in a time such as the current, when the country was relying on them to help move the economy to its expected point.

She added that the periodic engagements by the Committee would improve the customs clearance processes and procedures, especially the joint examination of goods, while promoting swift and cost-effective clearance of goods at the port.

Mrs. Esther Kwakyewaa Amekudzi, the Chief Revenue Officer in Charge of Systems Administrator, commended stakeholders for their contributions towards having a robust clearing system.

Mrs. Amekudzi said it was important that stakeholders, especially importers and agents, get themselves abreast of the system for smooth operations, stating, for instance, that some do not know the procedure to follow when they want to convert a transit declaration to home consumption.

She said in such a case, the appropriate procedure was that whenever they have such an intent, they must first apply to the assistant commissioner of transit, and when he approves it, it would be sent down to the Tema Collection Sector for the necessary change to be effected.

She said that when that happens, the immediate thing is that the consignment must be moved to the nearest customs office from whichever location it is, “so if it’s within Tema, it means that you have to move it to the state warehouse.”

She also educated the stakeholders on what could lead to being blocked in the system and what must be done to avoid that, as well as the application for an extension of days for transit cargo clearance.

Madam Abena Serwaa Opoku Fosu, the Marketing and Communications Manager at Tema Port, enumerated some challenges chalked under the current sector commander.

These, she said, included the securing of Terminal 2 as a fix station, adding that an office was being set up for customs officers who would be assigned there, revealing that it would cut the cost for a lot of people as they would no longer have to bring the containers from Terminal Three to Terminal Two and then back to Jubilee.

She said a number of pieces of equipment have also been procured by the GPHA, including tele trucks and mobile cranes, among others.

There were other presentations from the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), the FDA, and the GSA.