Ghana’s logistics system needs urgent reforms to reduce delays and the rising cost of moving goods, West African Regional Director of CUTS International, Appiah Adomako Kusi, has said.
Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, September 22, Mr Adomako Kusi said businesses paid about $60 million in demurrage to shipping lines last year due to delays in discharging finished fuel products at Ghana’s ports.
He explained that the delays often leave tankers and Bulk Distribution Companies (BDCs) waiting for vessels to discharge their cargo, resulting in additional charges.
“Last year close to about $60 million was paid as demurrage to shipping lines because of the delays it takes for these shipping vessels to be able to unload the finished products into the country.”
Mr Adomako Kusi said the problem is not limited to petroleum products, pointing to similar delays involving clinker imports and complaints from freight forwarders about cargo clearance at the airport.
He also raised concerns about the high cost of domestic air transport, saying the challenges reflect broader inefficiencies in Ghana’s logistics chain.
According to him, policymakers need to treat logistics as an efficiency and engineering challenge and find practical ways to move goods and services across the country more quickly and at a lower cost.
He warned that unless the existing gaps are addressed, businesses would continue to incur unnecessary expenses without receiving corresponding value.
Improving the logistics system, he added, could help cut avoidable costs, boost efficiency and make Ghana’s movement of goods and services more competitive.
