Director-General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Brigadier General Paul Seidu Tanye-Kulono, has called on importers to make full use of the expanded 24-hour port operations at Tema and Takoradi ports to clear their cargo early – thus avoiding unnecessary costs.

According to him, GPHA is currently putting in place measures to decongest the ports and enhance operational efficiency in support of government’s 24-hour economy policy.

Speaking in an interview, Brigadier General Tanye-Kulono averred that early clearance of goods will reduce the risk of accumulating demurrage and ultimately lower cost of doing business at the ports.

“When your containers arrive, as much as possible try and clear them early. Don’t wait until three to four days when demurrage starts to build up and then you all rush here. Now we are operating 24 hours, both day and night, so take advantage,” he said.

The Director-General revealed that significant strides have already been made to reduce container congestion at some key terminals. He said when he took over some few months ago, there was a backlog of over 5,800 containers at MPS. However, the Authority has successfully reduced the number to under 1,000 with current figures around 520, most of which are excavators.

This reduction, he noted, was achieved through strategic leasing of trucks, a move necessitated by the unreliability of third-party transporters.

“We couldn’t depend solely on third-party trucks, so with the Transport Ministry’s support we leased trucks to move containers swiftly,” he explained.

To facilitate smoother cargo movement, Brigadier General Tanye-Kulono said GPHA is working closely with MPS on completing a link road between MPS and Terminal 2, a project that is 90% complete and expected to drastically cut down container transit time within the port enclave.

He stated that to operationalise the 24-hour economy, GPHA has invested in operational logistics including 45 leased pick-up trucks and staff buses to ease transportation for port workers.

He further stated that his outfit is collaborating with other stakeholders to ensure round-the-clock presence at the ports.

“One of our main challenges is the absence of some stakeholders at night. We are engaging with them to ensure their continuous presence, especially during night operations,” the Director-General stated.

Brigadier General Tanye-Kulono reiterated his commitment to discipline, fairness and efficiency, assuring stakeholders and staff that GPHA is poised to become more customer-friendly and responsive.