Apart from facilitating the clearance of goods within a shorter time frame, it has also led to a surge in revenue generation from the country’s entry points.

At the one-year celebration of the GNSW in Accra yesterday, the Deputy Ministers of State for Finance and Trade, Ms Mona Quartey and Mr Murtala Mohammed respectively, said the project had succeeded in controlling corruption evident in the increase in revenue.

They, however, could not give immediate figures when asked by journalists.

E-zones commissioned

The occasion was also used to inaugurate e-zones at the KIA and the Tema Harbour to complement efforts by GNSW in reducing the cost and hours of transacting business at the various ports.

The operation of the GNSW in these two areas, they said, had reduced human interfacing in trade transactions to the barest minimum thereby allowing most processes to be undertaken automatically.

“It has greatly increased transparency and reduced the possibilities for irregular interventions and payments,” Mr Mohammed said.

Benefits of the single window

Speaking on the economic benefits of the GNSW, the Chief Executive Officer of West Blue Consulting, implementers of the project, Madam Valentina Mintah, said the installation of the two e-zones was a physical manifestation of GNSW where stakeholders in the trade industry would have a one-stop shop where all issues could be resolved.

The plan, she said, was to have e-zones at every entry point of the country and that the Aflao border and the Takoradi Harbour were the next to have e-zones followed by the Elubo border.

She said the project was a journey and even though it had not arrived at the expected destination, much progress had been made in reducing the time and cost of doing business at the two entry points.

The President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Nana Barimah Ofori Ameyaw, said the programme was laudable considering that before its implementation, the money that went into individual pockets was more than what went into the national coffers.

He recounted that importers had to go through 23 different institutions in a bid to clear goods which was time consuming.

“I was always yearning for a day that goods could be cleared in hours and West Blue has achieved about 60 to 70 per cent,” he said.

Background

The GNSW project initiated on September 1, 2015 and officially launched on December 1, 2015 by the government aims to enhance the country’s trade and economic development, and secure and increase government revenue.

The project is a partnership between business and the government to strengthen the country’s trade competitiveness and enhance the participation of the business community in the global market thereby creating new trade and employment opportunities.