Cattle Dealers express concern about numerous Barriers

Members of the Bolgatanga Cattle Dealers Association (BOCADA) have expressed concern about the numerous barriers and multiple taxes they are forced to pay when transporting their animals from the Region to the southern sector for sale.

Members of BOCADA expressed the concern at a stakeholders meeting held in Bolgatanga at the weekend to deliberate on how to overcome the problem. They said there were about 23 police, seven CEPS and six MTTU barriers from Paga to Kumasi.

Each of the barriers charged the cattle dealers between 10 Ghana cedis and 30 Ghana cedis without proper documentation.

The Association said barriers in the north were more than those of the south and the security personnel fixed their own charges.

”Your ability to bargain determines how much you will pay at the end. But no receipts are issued out for payment made”.

The cattle dealers said the multiple barriers and multiple tax system apart from affecting national revenue also affected their business since it reduced their income.

They also stated that the process delayed movement and thereby affected their ability to make it to their destinations in good time, sometimes endangering the lives of the animals.

BOCADA appealed to the government to introduce ”a One Stop Payment System” for them to pay and produce their receipts at each security or checkpoint in order to avoid delay and exploitation.

”The CEPS, Police and MTTU should adopt a participatory approach in determining the tax rate for cattle dealers so as to ensure convenience and compliance at the barriers”.

Mr Richard Ananga, a Consultant and a Service Provider to the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge BUSAC Fund, said a consultative forum would be organized where all the security agencies would be invited including the cattle dealers to see how they could jointly address the problem.