The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has given indication the double window platform at the ports will continue to exist until such a time that operators become absolutely conversant with the single window platform being handled by West Blue Consulting.
According to the GPHA, the co-existence of the operations of the Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet) and West Blue Consulting at the ports is due to the slow pace of adoption of the single window platform provided by West Blue Consulting.
Speaking to Citi Business News on the issue, the Terminal Supervisor at the GPHA, Emmanuel Ashaley Neequaye argued that it may take some time for a complete takeover by West Blue Consulting.
“We have become more useful to the GCNet system, we are now trying to incorporate the West Blue system and it is a separate platform and I think people have not gotten used to that platform very well so they all rely on the GCNet platform,”
“They do but not on the larger scale like the GCNet system. I think that eventually the GCNet would fade out for West Blue to come in but people have not gotten used to it. It also has to do with the problem that is often associated with the GCNet system,” he added.
The apparent duplication of roles by West Blue and GCNet despite the collapse of all activities by the Destination Inspection Companies in 2015, has been viewed as contributing to the excessive delays at the ports.
The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has also bemoaned the development and called for an immediate resolution.
Mr. Ashaley Neequaye also expressed worry at the persistent technical breakdowns with GCNet’s system which accumulates the workloads due to delays.
He is however confident that the seeming confusion over the existence of the two platforms should cease with an eventual phasing out of GCNet’s operations.
“Unfortunately, the problem that is currently facing us is the frequent breakdown in the network. So sometime it holds down our activities for two to four hours and that is the problem that we are facing currently with the GCNet system,” he remarked.
Mr. Neequaye who was speaking at the sidelines of of a workshop on challenges for multilateral trading system – Perspectives from West Africa further intimated,
“The problem is a technical one and with the interconnectivity, the systems go off whenever the weather gets bad. This has been there since the inception of GCNet. Sometimes when the weather gets clear, it will work normal for about two months, but when it is raining, it goes off, when it’s stormy too same challenge. At other times too you wouldn’t be able to determine what the problem is.”
citibusiness
