Lennon Anas Nasamu, Trade Finance Products Manager at Ecobank, has called on businesses and other stakeholders in trade to help improve the country’s export base to increase much-needed foreign currency.

“The trends show that imports keep growing and exports dwindling; but with enough foreign currency we have a better balance of payment and trade, and we’ll have enough forex in the system and reduce the pressure on the cedi,” he said.

Speaking at an Ecobank-organised seminar on Corporate Bank, SME and Trade Services, in Tema, he encouraged all stakeholders to increase exports because they bring foreign currency.

“We just have to encourage more exports and produce more things locally, especially those that we import. Also, banks must be seen to support initiatives that support exports and local production, especially where customers are seen to be creditworthy,” he added.

The seminar was attended by over 100 customers of the bank involved in trade activities and highly participatory; it had Albert Akurugu, Customs Officer with the Operations Unit of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), and Angela Mensah of the Central Bank in attendance.

Ecobank organised the seminar in an effort to champion efficiency and support for trade finance. The seminar created a platform for participants to ask questions and understand the newly introduced Pre-Arrival Assessment Reporting Systems (PAARS), as well as the National Single Window Concept.

The PAARS is a modernised system that has been developed by the Customs Division of GRA as part of implementing the National Single Window system to enhance revenue mobilisation, improve border security and Customs clearance, overcome duplication across regulatory agencies, and promote facilitation.

The Ghana Single Window is a secure trade platform that facilitates the exchange of information between government and the logistics community. The platform reduces the need for data to be entered multiple times -- instead it can be exchanged and re-used electronically; achieving faster, more accurate results and improving the ease of compliance with government requirements.

“It’s our duty as a bank to understand their businesses, know their challenges and proffer solutions that will address those challenges,” he said.

Ecobank’s, presence in 36 countries of Africa, according to Mr. Nasamu, allows the bank to support businesses from one end of the spectrum to the other across borders -- thus helping them expand their trading activities.

“If a customer wants to enter a market where Ecobank has presence, what the bank does is to introduce him/her to that market through our affiliate in that country or region; and as a bank we want to use this forum to pick up feedback from them as to what they expect from this year -- which will feed into the products and services we churn out to support them,” Mr. Nasamu noted.

Mr. Akurugu of the GRA explained that the new system will help facilitate trade, adding that: “Even before the ship sets sail, once you have your documentation you can begin processing so that by the time the goods arrive all you do is to go and fetch them into your premises without incurring further charges.”

He added that the PAARS is about reducing the time and cost of doing business in Ghana, but he disclosed that importers must provide Customs with their invoice details, which must also contain the mode of payment.

Ms. Mensah of the BoG took participants through foreign exchange regulations on imports and exports, reminding them of restrictions on the operation of foreign exchange and foreign currency accounts.

According to her, since the source of funds for the foreign exchange account is domestic and therefore limited, “transfers from that account into the foreign currency account remain prohibited.”

Challenges

Mr. Nasamu added that some of the challenges businesses face are the bottlenecks that hamper smooth trade operations.

“Businesses are regulated by different central banks, and so businesses find it difficult to repatriate their profits. There is lack of proper coordination among countries in the sub-region to encourage intra-African trade. Harmonisation is something we can work on.”