Professor Ransford E.V. Gyampo, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), has held a series of high-level engagements with key players in the air freight sector at Kotoka International Airport (KIA), as part of efforts to lower the cost of commercial shipping in Ghana.
The visit, which took place on Monday, included a meeting with the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), the state agency responsible for managing and developing airports across the country. The move follows similar interactions with stakeholders in the sea and land freight sectors.
During the engagement, the GSA delegation — led by Prof. Gyampo and supported by senior management — also toured two major cargo handling companies, Aviance Ghana and Swissport Ghana. The team later met with freight forwarders operating at KIA to foster collaboration and address longstanding operational concerns.
A statement issued by the GSA said the Managing Director of GACL, Mrs. Yvonne Nana Afriyie Opare, welcomed the team warmly and congratulated Prof. Gyampo on his appointment.
“We are always ready to support GSA’s operations, and as we have collaborated in the past, we will continue to engage with you to improve the sector,” she said.
Prof. Gyampo highlighted his earlier visits to major players in the shipping and logistics industry, including the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Meridian Port Services (MPS), shipping lines, and border agencies such as Customs and Immigration at Aflao, Kpoglu, and Akanu-Noepe.
He emphasised that these visits were designed to gather firsthand insight and to support President John Mahama’s broader vision of economic transformation through reduced business costs.
“Our role is to protect the interests of shippers — whether by sea, land, or air — while also recognising the concerns of shipping service providers. We will incorporate operating standards into our Legislative Instrument (LI) to ensure that all sector players perform their duties diligently,” Prof. Gyampo said.
He also noted that under the GSA Act 2024 (Act 1122), the Authority would begin enforcing standards to bring greater predictability and efficiency to shipping operations nationwide.
At Aviance Ghana, Managing Director Mr. Mark Kamis pledged continued collaboration with the GSA and lauded Prof. Gyampo for engaging stakeholders early in his tenure.
“We are doing well. We want to continue contributing our quota to making Ghana visible globally through our work,” he said.
At Swissport Ghana, Managing Director Mr. Gerald Suckling expressed concern over the declining performance of the air freight sector, noting that reduced production of goods — both perishable and non-perishable — had caused some cargo airlines to withdraw from the Ghanaian market, negatively affecting Swissport’s operations.
He also highlighted a significant drop in exports and blamed persistent issues such as delayed cargo clearance, often due to poor importer preparation and funding challenges.
Mrs. Monica Josiah, Head of Operations at the GSA, commended Swissport for the positive scores it received in GSA’s recent Service Level Survey.
During a separate meeting with executives of freight forwarder associations at KIA, a number of operational frustrations were brought to the fore. Chief among them was the unreliability of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS), which forwarders say frequently breaks down for long periods, stalling the clearance process and escalating costs.
“One agency advertises 24-hour permit issuance, but in reality, it takes two or more days. Without their permit, we cannot proceed, and this causes delays,” one freight forwarder explained.
Another noted, “Due to weight discrepancies, we cannot use the pre-clearance option in ICUMS. Often, the declared weight differs from the actual weight upon arrival, forcing us to restart the process. That’s why we prefer to begin clearance only after the consignment arrives.”
Mrs. Josiah encouraged forwarders to document and report such issues to the Shipper Support Unit at KIA for action.
The GSA, she assured, would “investigate and demand refunds or redress where applicable.”
