… Goods still uncleared at Tema Port after 4 months

The Union of Gadangme (natives of Greater Accra Region, Ghana) in Emilia Romagna Region (in Italy) is disappointed over items sent to Ghana to be distributed to some community hospitals in Accra. The goods which includes 84 hospital beds, hospital bedside cabinets, an ambulance and a number of items for hospital staff is still waiting in its ‘container’ at the Tema Port to be cleared - 4 months after arriving in Ghana.

A representative of the Union in Ghana informed the Union that despite submitting all the necessary documents at the Ministry of Health and to othe r authorities he is still not in a position to clear the goods which on the instructions of the Union should be distributed to some specific government hospitals in Accra.

At a meeting of the Union’s Executives in the northern Italian city, Modena, the Vice President, Abednego Okley Anang, expressed surprise about bureaucratic tendencies which has contributed to the delay in clearing the goods at the Port which he says is needed to help save some lives. He noted the Union after sending a delegation to Accra last year, to make feasibility studies at helping some localities outside Accra, thought it wise to send its first donation of such items to some community hospitals in the Greater Accra Region. He said the Union sort assistance from the Ghana Embassy in Rome and were provided with the necessary information on shipping the goods to Ghana without paying import duties and it has come as a surprise things have been delayed as long as 4 months for the goods to be sent to the beneficiaries.

The Union says this kind of negative tendencies does not augur well to encourage Ghanaians abroad to help their communities back home in Ghana.

The representative of the Union in Accra said he has been to the office of Ministry of Health several times in an attempt to conclude documentation for clearing of the goods from the Tema Port but all the his efforts have been futile.

It’s being believed in some quarters among the Union members the delay has come about because some people in certain position of authority , who will sign or process documents, for the goods to be cleared want their palm to be greased – something the Union described as unfortunate and will not do.

When I made contact to the appropriate office at the Ministry of Health in Accra and on the line with the official (name withheld) who is believed to be holding back on the necessary documents which will enable the goods to be cleared he explained his side of the story. In a 10 minutes interview he stated the documents came late to his office when the goods have already arrived in the country which he indicated should not have been the case. He admitted there has been some delay in the process and that has led to the ‘container’ attracting some ‘rent charges’ but pointed out the office is trying to raise some funds to pay the cost of the charges. He was unable to mention how much is to be paid but said the office is working hard to get the money and have things sorted out, promising the goods will be cleared soon.

His explanation was described as false by the Union’s representative in Accra who said within the same week that the goods arrived he sent the documents to the Customs Department which directed he gets a letter from the Ministry of Health for exemption of import duties. According to him he has been to the Ministry of Health office more than a dozen times and even after the said official requested for the original of the documents covering the goods, which was submitted, it has taken him more than two months yet still not coming out with the letter requested by the Customs Department Office to clear the goods at the Port. He argued the delay came from the official who at first insisted the goods should be cleared by an agent for the Ministry, then brought to the Ministry of Health for distribution. Despite accepting this, against the Union’s directives that the goods be taken to the ‘Ga Mantse’ (Accra Chief’s) Palace and distributed, the matter still ranges on.

Most of the Union members are condemning the action of the authorities in Ghana for their inept attitude and not considering the deplorable conditions of hospitals in the Greater Accra Region.

The Executive Board has decided to send a petition to the Ministry of Health and other authorities concerned with the issue if the situation is not resolved within a certain limit of time.

- Reggie Tagoe in Modena, Italy.