Goods vanish from Customs premises

The Ghanaian Times reports that imported goods worth millions of cedis have vanished from the premises of one of the inspection agencies of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), leading to a huge loss to the state.

The importers of the goods had failed to collect 330 Final Classification and Valuation Report (FCVR) issued for the clearance of goods, yet the goods disappeared.

Investigations are underway to find out where the goods are or who cleared them without the relevant FCVR documents.

The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Akwasi Osei-Adjei disclosed at the closing ceremony of a two-day advocacy seminar on clearance and shipment procedures for 41 Importers and Exporters organised by the Private Enterprise Foundation, in collaboration with CEPS under a UNDP-Ghana Government Private sector Promotion Programme.

Mr Osei-Adjei noted that the cumbersome procedures at the various ports of entry had turned the ports into breeding grounds for corruption and inefficiency.

"This does not only waste precious time of business people, but also cause embarrassment to the country as it is badly perceived by foreign investors,” he said.

The Deputy Minister said that in response to those factors, the government was strengthening the human capacity of CEPS, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), under the Gateway Project.

Presidential stands cannot be sold out at any sports event

The National Sports Councils (NSC) has said that the Presidential Stand at the Kumasi Sports Stadium is a state enclosure and therefore, cannot be sold out to the public on any occasion.

The NSC was reacting to a newspaper report that Asante Kotoko was selling seats of the stand at Kumasi Sports stadium for its matches.

According to the NSC, presidential seats at the stadium and their occupation at any given function are the exclusive preserves of the State.

"The Presidential Stand at the Accra Sports Stadium too falls under the same category. The National Sports Council is the sole implementing agency of the state on the issue", Mr Nelson Ofori, Head of Public Relations at the NSC said in a statement.

The NSC, therefore, warned against patronising any such ventures, adding that it was not against any club or group of persons taking steps to market their functions at any state stadium.

But it pointed out that it was vital to respect set protocol and basic administrative procedures.