Stakeholders in Port Industries undergo training

Key stakeholders in Ghana’s Port Industry have undergone a five-day training on the implementation of Single Window Systems for trade facilitation.

The capacity building programme was on the Improvement of Port Customs and Operation Efficiency in Africa (IPCOEA) project under the auspices of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) with support from the European Union.

Ghana is among seven countries identified for the initial phase of the programme, with La Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Cape Verde.

Mr Roland Tantoh, Project Manager of the Ports Management Association of West and Central Africa, stated during the workshop that such programmes were to position African ports to be resilient, efficient, and competitive while leveraging on digital technology.

“When we start digitalizing, we reduce redundancy, we are more effective in our operations. When we are trained, on boarding becomes easy, and passing on good practices also becomes easier. This step Africa is delving into is crucial,” he added.

Mr Michael Luguje, Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority, said while Ghana was relatively advanced than some of its counterparts in the implementation of a Single Window System, such a workshop helped ports to learn from each other towards the desired level of operationalization.

He said, “single window is the way to go, it is an obligation for every port and trading organization to embrace it, the western countries are way advanced, and we are also catching up.”