The Association of Customs House Agents Ghana ACHAG this week paid a day’s working visit to the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Shippers’ Authority.

The purpose of the visit was to introduce the association and its executives to the Commissioner of Customs and the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority and to explore areas of mutual collaboration and cooperation.

Interim president of the Association Mr. Yaw Kyei who espoused the rationale behind the establishment of ACHAG said the formation of the association was premised on providing education and on-the-job training for players in the industry and to help sanitise the freight forwarding industry.

According to him, the long held perception that freight forwarders and clearing agents were mostly criminals and uneducated, needs to give way a new perception of a well trained, well mannered and trusted freight forwarding industry. ‘’Our effort is aimed at complimenting what the other associations are doing.

Giving our huge numbers they may not be able to cover every body and every area efficiently, so we have stepped in to bridge the void. But our cardinal objective is to offer education and training to our employees and players in the industry in general and restore the integrity of the industry to what we all want it to be.

So we are not rivalling any other association, we are like brothers and we collaborate most of the time when the need arises’’ he told his hosts.

Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, Madam Benonita Bismarck who expressed joy at the visit, promised her outfit’s support and cooperation with the association, describing the objective of the association as a noble one.

She said what ACHAG seeks to do will change the perception that the public have about freight forwarders and clearing agents. Madam Bismarck hinted that the Authority will soon commence moves to publish the charges that shipping lines in the country charge shippers in order to allow for transparency.

Commissioner of the customs division of the GRA Mr. Isaac Crentsil on his part urged the ACHAG executives to impress upon their members to eschew acts such under declaration and under invoicing, warning that intransigent freight forwarders will be sanctioned.

According to him, there is the need for ACHAG to scrutinise new members who apply to join because some freight forwarders and clearing agents commit some wrongs in other associations and when they are found out and sanctioned, they flee to the next available and willing association just to stay in business.

The Commissioner together with the ACHAG executives discussed the possibility of cooperating to end such a trend. He warned that any act that will compromise government revenue will be severely punished.

Mr. Crentsil promised that the division was ready and willing to work with the association given the fact that what it stands for is right and important to the development of shipping industry.