Tema, Nov. 30, GNA - Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) on Thursday assured Steel Industries of their readiness to prevent the exportation of ferrous scraps through the Tema port to save local industries from collapse.

Nii Kwei Amasa, Stevedore Manager of GPHA and Mr Muhammed Nahfus Nasirudeen, Sector Commander of CEPS, said they would alert the Steel Manufacturers Association of Ghana (SMAG) if any Scrap Dealers attempt to export ferrous scraps for the necessary action to be taken on them. They gave the assurance at the Press Conference held by the SMAG at Tema to impress on the government to consider the plight of local steel industries and give a legal backing to the ban on the exportation of scraps.

Ms Veronica Sedah, Assistant Commissioner of CEPS in charge of Export, said a section of CEPS officials would be trained to know the difference between non-ferrous and ferrous scraps.

The conference was attended by Chief Executive Officers of the steel companies in Tema namely, Mr Issac Yeboah of Wahome, Mr Raymond Tse of Ferro Fabrik, Mr T. K. Paul of Western Steel and Foundry and Mr J. M. Patel of Tema Steel, as well as representatives of scrap dealers.

Mr Yeboah, CEO of Wahome, said many steel companies were not producing at full capacity because of insufficient scraps to work with, adding that while a company needed about 800 tones of scraps a day, 600 tones was being exported illegally daily.

He said until the government intervenes to ensure the enactment of the law banning the export of scraps, its programme of the Golden Age of Business in the steel industry, which is the backbone of the economy, would be in the balance.

Mr Yeboah indicated that it would be regrettable to lay-off workers just because of non availability of scraps which is in abundance in the country, saying most of the scraps are collected from Takoradi, Kumasi and Cape Coast.