West African Regional Director of CUTS International, Appiah Adomako Kusi, has called for urgent reforms to address inefficiencies in Ghana’s logistics system, warning that delays at the country’s ports are driving up costs for businesses.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, September 22, he said Ghana paid about $60 million in demurrage to shipping lines last year as a result of delays in discharging finished fuel products at the ports.
According to Mr Adomako Kusi, the delays often result in additional costs for tankers and Bulk Distribution Companies (BDCs), which are charged while waiting for vessels to discharge their cargo.
“Last year close to about $60 million was paid as demurrage to shipping lines because of the delays it takes for these shipping vessels to be able to unload the finished products into the country.”
He said the challenges go beyond petroleum products, pointing to delays in clinker imports and complaints from freight forwarders over cargo clearance at the airport.
Mr Adomako Kusi also cited the high cost of domestic air transport as another concern within Ghana’s logistics chain, saying the challenges highlight the need for a broader review of how goods and services are moved across the country.
He urged policymakers to treat logistics as an efficiency and engineering challenge, with the aim of improving the movement of goods and services at lower cost.
According to him, improving the logistics system could help reduce unnecessary expenditure and boost efficiency, while failure to address existing gaps would continue to drive up costs without delivering commensurate benefits.