Port Management Coup Backfires, GRA Runs Back Into Arms of GCNET

Attempts by the Akufo Addo administration to clandestinely wrest the multi-million dollar port management contract from the Ghana Community Network (GCNET) and West Blue and give it to a regime crony has backfired, forcing the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to beg GCNET to return.

The Osafo-Marfo-led scheme had wanted to take over the port management system being operated by GCNET and hand it on a silver platter to Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS)/UNIPASS, a system operated by CUIPEA of South Korea and Ghana Link Limited, owned by one Nick Danso who is allegedly a close friend of the Jubilee House.

However, the ICUM which has failed test-runs several times was reported to have failed miserably to handle trades at the various ports when it was rolled out fully on April 1, 2020.

Whatsup News has seen a memo written by the Commissioner-General of GRA to the Customs Division, practically admitting that the GRA had gone to beg GCNET to return to handle the chaos that the new ICUMS system had unleased at Ghana’s ports. Ghana has reportedly lost huge revenue during the melee.

“It has come to the notice of Management of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) that Customs House Agents/declarants are facing some challenges processing their Customs documents on the ICUMS,” the memo said in an admission of the ICUMS’ failure.

“Management of GRA as part of efforts to resolve these challenges is having consultations with management of GCNET for the restoration of the GCNET GCMS services. The discussions are almost concluded and Management is hopeful that the GCNET GCMS will be operational by Wednesday, 29th April 2020. Management regrets the inconvenience that the disruption in services has caused all cherished stakeholders.”

The GRA’s website still captures the spirited announcement of how the ICUMS was to take over from GCNET. “All existing declarations being processed in GCMS for which payment of taxes have not been effected by close of banking day 27th April, 2020 will be required to be re-processed in the ICUMS as a new Bill Of Entry’s (BOE) from 28th April 2020,” the scheduled timeline on the website read.

Whatsup News gathered that the Akufo Addo administration had failed to convince GCNET to hand over their infrastructure to ICUMS. Apparently, ICUMS did not have the capabilities at par with GCNET, despite the former being touted by Senior Minister Osafo Marfo and government officials as being more superior than the system operated by the GCNET for over a decade now.

The GRA has now confirmed that GCNET’s GCMS and the new ICUMS would now work hand-in-hand. This is contained in an April 27, 2020 letter to all sectors under the revenue agencies, written by the Acting Commissioner-General of the GRA, Amisshaddai Owusu-Amoah.

Critics, including several think-tanks have questioned the government’s motivation for handing over the sensitive port management system to UNIPASS/ICUMS despite them having countlessly failed to demonstrate it was a more superior system than the GCNET system.