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Even though the Covid-19 coronavirus has been projected to negatively hit Ghana’s import revenues, the Akufo Addo government has given the country’s port management services to a crony who will charge government more.
In a clandestine move seen by Whatsup News, the government has usurped the port management system operated by the Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet) and West Blue (Customs World) and has given it to a Korean Customs management services called UNIPASS.
UNIPASS will charge Ghana 0.75 per cent on FOB value of every service they render for the government in the Single Window port management services of Ghana. Meanwhile, the more superior GCNET system was charging the government of Ghana some 0.54 per cent on FOB value.
The Minority in Parliament today questioned the rationale for such a curious deal. “What specific addition is Ghana link/UNIPASS bringing on to warrant the extra 0.21 per cent of FOB,” the Minority asked in during a press briefing today.
They smell corruption in what favoured a UNIPASS system which is “incompetent and Incapable” of delivering a single-window system. “The only reason why this can happy is when there are ulterior motives,” the Minority charged.
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 bigwigs in the Jubilee House.
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
Whatsup News gathered that this “Palace Coup d’état” against GCNET and West Blue means Ghanaian taxpayers are likely to be soon 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.
The new contract also means that the government has totally ignored its own red flags about the inferiority of UNIPASS that led the Economic Management Team (EMT) in January 2019 to order the immediate suspension of UNIPASS planned rollout that year.
The government’s determination to push through the UNIPASS deal through all odds has also spited the countless warnings issued by the Institute of Ghana Freight Forwarders (GHIFF) who asked: “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.”