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While all attention is currently focused on the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak in Ghana, the Akufo Addo administration has secretly handed over Ghana’s port revenue management service to a system from Korea called Universal Pass (UNI-PASS) behind the backs of the legal operators of the service.
The government through the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) sneaked the contract to UNIPASS despite the fact that it has on countless occasions failed to demonstrate that it was a better alternative to the current port management system operated by the Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet) and West Blue (Customs World).
A March 31, 2020 letter intercepted by Whatsup News from the GRA, states: “Effective 1st April 2020, all shipping lines are hereby directed to submit into ICUMS the following: Manifest of vessels not yet arrived at Takoradi Port. Any Manifest already submitted into GCNet/GCMS for affected vessels.”
“Any concern regarding this directive should be communicated to the Commissioner,” Amishaddai Owusu-Amoah, the Commissioner-General of
Effectively, this coup d’état against GCNET and West Blue means Ghanaian taxpayers would be saddled with almost US$300 million in settlement to both companies because they still have a valid contract till 2023 and the end of 2020 respectively.
Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Marfo is reported to be the main brain behind the seizure of the lucrative business from GCNET and hand it over to UNIPASS which is co-owned by a Ghanaian company called Ghana Link Network Limited, which is owned by one Nick Danso Adjei-an alleged friend of the Jubilee House bigwigs.
The new contract also means that the government has totally ignored warnings issued by freight-forwarder that they believe the UNIPASS system was inferior to the GCNET system and will cost Ghanaian freight forwarders more to access and more to operate and would affect government revenue from the ports.
For instance, the new system means Ghanaian importers would be paying more-0.75 per cent fee (FOB), against GCNET’s 0.54 per cent charges. Also, the main infrastructure that would be used by UNIPASS was built by GCNET.
A few weeks ago, a livid President of the Institute of Ghana Freight Forwarders (GHIFF), warned against the backdoor introduction of UNI-PASS
“What is broken that you want to fix? We are not complaining about the system we have right now. What at all is new in what government is bringing that will assure me that is superior to what is currently running. UNIPASS will bring disruption if it is implemented. I tell you we have been to some of the training they organised. This does not make me happy at all,” he complained.
“The Senior Minister must be patient and he and his team including the management of UNIPASS must not rush this in any way or else they will have themselves to blame for the chaos which will hit the ports …,” he charged.
GCNET currently collects approximately 97% of revenue for the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) through its Customs division. This amounts to some GHC 40 million daily, Whatsup New gathered.
Critics are certain that there is no assurance that UNIPASS will be able to collect that much as it has failed to satisfactorily demonstration its capabilities.
Indeed, this failure let to the Economic Management Team (EMT) in January 2019 to order the immediate suspension of UNIPASS planned rollout that year.