Importers and Exporters Association Allege Unlawful Auction of Containers at Tema Port

The Importers and Exporters Association has accused officials at the Tema Port of unlawful auction of frozen food containers.

According to the association, in the past few months, officials have consistently auctioned off the said containers without doing due diligence – officially notifying the importer in question.

In an interview with MX24 News, the Executive Secretary for the association, Samson Asaki Awingobit said “they don’t even inform you (the importer). You just find out, out of the blue that the container has been sold.”

Mr. Awingobit further alleged of a skewed auctioneering process that “favours NPP foot soldiers.”

“There is no recourse to due process. Affected importers do not even have a chance to re-purchase their own containers. They spend about $50, 000 bringing in these containers, pay duty running into tens of thousands of Ghana Cedis only to have them auctioned for one-third of the price to party boys, NPP foot soldiers.”

The association is therefore calling on the Ghana Revenue Authority to streamline and sanitise processes by which things, especially containers are auctioned at the ports so its members do not run at a loss.