A shipping and logistics company, which won the most promising company at the 2024 Ghana Shippers Award, has called on the government to reduce bureaucracy at the ports to boost businesses.

Karima Multi Company said the many bureaucracies at the ports unnecessarily delayed the clearing of goods, hampering businesses in the country.

The Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Mohammed Osman, said: “There is too much bureaucracy at the ports, with so many agencies, basically doing the same thing.”

“After one agency has checked the goods, another will tell you something was not done right and also do the same checks on the same container, delaying the whole process,” he said.

Competitive taxes 

Mr Osman further urged the government to reduce the duties and taxes at the ports to make the country more competitive.

According to him, the taxes charged on goods were a disincentive to businesses, and also sometimes made goods extremely expensive for the final consumer.

“The duties charged at the ports are also killing businesses. The duties charged on goods should be competitive among neighbouring countries in the sub-region,” he added.

He disagreed with the notion that reducing taxes and charges at the ports would affect government revenue, adding that such initiatives would rather have the potential to dramatically increase revenue for the government.

“If the duties and charges at the ports are competitive, it will increase the revenue of the government as people will not have any incentive to use the ports of neighbouring countries and smuggle them into the country,” he said.

Motivation 

Mr Osman said the Karima Multi Company, which included Karima Shipping and other entities, was given the award based on its performance and innovation over the years.

He explained that the company dealt in the shipping of all goods, as well as other logistical support from the United States (US) to Ghana.

The award, he said, was a source of motivation and a call on the company to do more.

“We won this award based on our performance, innovation, excellent customer service and social impact programmes, which have had a positive impact on society,” he said.

Mr Osman said this was not the first time the company had been recognised for its sterling performance, stressing that it had won two awards in the US.

“In 2016, we were awarded the best exporter of the year in New York by the Small Business Administration of New York, while in 2021, we were awarded the Best Shipper in Bronx, New York, by the Bronx Award programme,” he said.