Accra, Nov. 30, GNA - The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has paid 25 billion cedis as dividend to the Government for 2005. This was made known when Mr Brain Adomako, Chairman of GPHA Board of Directors, presented a cheque for 15 billion cedis as final dividend payment to the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu in Accra.

Mr Adomako said GPHA had already paid ten billion cedis earlier this year.

He said in 2004 GPHA paid 25 billion cedis to the Government. Mr Adomako noted that since Ghana was the gateway to West Africa GPHA was making efforts to make it a reality. He said goods meant for Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger all passed through Ghanaian Ports.

Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, expressed his appreciation to GPHA saying wherever the country invested something good should come from it. He said there were a lot of agencies operating at the ports and the Government could achieve a lot of income from them especially with those that were franchised.

Mr Baah-Wiredu said most people, who wanted to import goods into the country, always complained about the operations at the ports and appealed to GPHA to streamline the activities there to make its operations more convenient.

He said this was the peak season and people would be importing goods so everything should be done to make customers feel comfortable and not to be afraid to import. Mr Baah-Wiredu said there was the need for the places where the trucks parked to be tarred and containers should not be left waiting for too long at the ports.