The Coalition of Concerned Exporters, Importers and Traders has sharply rebutted data analyst David O.G. Abbots’ recent defence of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority’s (GSA) controversial Smart Port Note (SPN) system, calling his arguments technically narrow and disconnected from Ghana’s shipping realities.
In a detailed response circulated to media outlets, coalition convener Michael Obiri-Adjei dismantles Abbots’ January claims supporting the mandatory SPN rollout set for February 1, 2026. The coalition rejects his core assertion that SPN and the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) operate at different stages, insisting ICUMS already serves as Ghana’s Single Window, capturing all trade data including pre-arrival and pre-shipment details.
Shipping lines and agents currently feed advanced manifest data into ICUMS weeks before vessel dock, enabling risk profiling and planning, the response notes. A parallel SPN portal for uploading invoices and packing lists would fragment this ecosystem, breed discrepancies, delays, and rejections directly clashing with World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement Article 10.4, which promotes single-window efficiency to curb duplication.
The coalition highlights overlooked history: GSA piloted an Advance Shipment Information system in 2015, only to shelve it after agreeing it should integrate into the national Single Window. It reemerged in 2023 under the Ministry of Finance but collapsed amid stakeholder backlash over redundancy. Today’s ICUMS already handles pre-shipment intelligence via global lines like Maersk and MSC, which share full bills of lading data electronically well before departure.
Freight forwarders and brokers add a vital verification layer by submitting pre-arrival docs to ICUMS based on client instructions. True challenges stem not from data gaps but from inter-agency coordination and enforcement, the traders argue. Legally, while GSA cites 2012 regulations (LI 2190), enforcing a 13-year-old rule amid evolved digital flows amounts to regression, especially post-Ghana’s shift to Destination Inspection under the Ghana Revenue Authority.
Cost fears aren’t naive, the response counters: Private provider Inter Ocean Maritime and Logistics Institute (IOMLI)’s role foreshadows fees, adding to layers that erode competitiveness Importers face disruptive duplication as forwarders already handle these tasks.
Instead, the coalition urges channelling resources into ICUMS enhancements like API integrations for automatic data from shipping lines and using GSA’s new 2024 Act (Act 1122) to curb exploitative fees such as demurrage Parallels to Africa’s failed Electronic Cargo Tracking Note systems in Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania underscore SPN’s flawed premise.
Obiri-Adjei calls for integration over addition in Ghana’s digitalization push, urging a reassessment before February. The coalition welcomes collaboration with the Ministries of Transport and Finance, Ghana Revenue Authority, and GSA to cut costs and boost trade.
Story by: Mercy Addai Turkson #ahotoronline.com