The Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders has lauded government’s decision to rollout the paperless clearing system.

The move to introduce the system at the ports followed a directive from the vice president Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia earlier this year.

Even though the implementation of the system which commenced September 4, 2017 was not without challenges, the vice president believed it would curb corruption and reduce the turnaround time for businesses.

The challenges that plagued the implementation of the system forced officials in charge of the system to blend the newly introduced system with the manual one.

Revenue collections at the ports in the first week of September shot up to GHC230 million compared to the GHC130 million which was raised same time last year, due to the new system, disclosed Dr. Bawumia when he addressed an orientation ceremony for National Service Personnel who had been posted to National Communications Authority.

“The results are amazing,” he said.

Commenting on the new system, the Executive Member of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders and Chief Executive Officer of E. Cargo Services Ghana Limited, Alex Asiamah said freight forwarders stand to benefit from the new system more than the government will benefit.

According to him, the paperless system will allow them make some substantial savings in terms of operations.

“…What is happening… we embrace it wholeheartedly because if you can sit in the office and clear containers and do business at the port, it is very, very good. It reduces our cost because sometimes our service charge that comes to us, some of them are the same thing that you use to move staff around to get things. But not moving is good for us and it saves cost,” he told Starr Business.

“Trust me. I know the government will benefit but we the professionals will benefit more,” he added.