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Customs officials at Elubo deny challenges with ICUMS
Customs officials at the Elubo land border- one out Ghana’s six land borders – have denied claims of challenges faced by the use of Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) in processing and releasing cargo vehicles into the country.
Media reports indicate that dozens of vehicles are seen parked behind the Elubo border and are unable to be processed for entry into Ghana due to some challenges encountered by the newly deployed ICUMS at the land borders.
A member of the Trade and Finance Committee of Parliament, Mr Isaac Adongo, in a media interaction showed a video portraying the hurdles importers go through in clearing their goods using the ICUMS, and said that affirmed the defects of the new system.
However, a Customs Long Room official at Elubo, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the vehicles parked behind the border had nothing to do with the use of the ICUMS.
“It is not unusual to see cars parked behind the border, it happens occasionally. Cars are parked on the no man’s land between Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana a lot of time for many reasons. These vehicles are allowed to park behind the border awaiting documentations. It has nothing to do with the ICUMS,” the official said.
The Custom official further asserted that, “the processing of documents for early release of vehicles into the country known as Compliance was now being done at the headquarters of the Customs Division because the GCNET system is not working again, as many of these guys processed their BOEs in that system. This means we at the boarder cannot process those old BOEs unless the head office hence the delay”.
The official said the only challenge they faced was the approval of their documents from the headquarters.
“Previously the approval and compliance was done by us at the Long room here and that speeds up the job, but now that the old system is off and the compliance has to be done at the headquarters hence the delay in processing and releasing the vehicles. But with ICUMS, everything is going on well,” he noted.
Some drivers who spoke on the issue gave various reasons for their parking there which had nothing to do with the ICUMS.
Ibrahim Sani said they were waiting for their agents from the Ivorian side to complete declaration processes to enable them to enter Abidjan as they had completed their processes from the Ghanaian side.
Another driver, Emmanuel Asante said the agent was waiting to receive funds from the importer to pay for the duties required which would then enable customs to allow them into Ghana.
ICUMS last week in the first four days registered some 1,452 transactions at the land frontiers and out of this, 408 were direct imports into home use, 900 Temporary Vehicle Imports, 34 warehouses, 20 transit and nine Free Zones.
The source at the Customs Long Room at Elubo, said every transaction done in ICUMS including TVI is issued with their required certificate, stressing, “For the avoidance of doubt, a TVI certificate is generated and given to the driver, which is verifiable.”
Source: Ghanaian Times
News
Ghana-Colombia strengthens ties through diplomatic engagement
In an important diplomatic engagement, the Colombian Ambassador to Ghana H.E. Daniel Garces Carabali paid a courtesy call on the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, at his office in Accra to discuss some key areas of collaboration.
The meeting focused on pressing issues, including security, decongestion of Ghana’s prisons, prison reform programmes, training programmes, improving the welfare of prisoners and enhancing disaster management in the country.
The courtesy call underscores the growing bilateral ties between Ghana and Colombia, building on previous engagements, such as the visit of the Colombian Vice President to Ghana in 2023.
The meeting demonstrates the commitment of both nations to fostering cooperation and addressing shared challenges.
News
Ghana to host African Catholic Journalists from August 10
The Union Catholique Africaine de la Presse (UCAP), also known as the African Catholic Union of the Press, in collaboration with the Catholic Association of Media Practitioners-Ghana (CAMP-G), is set to host its prestigious Triennial Congress from August 10 to 17 August, 2025.
The programme would be held at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Legon, Accra, Ghana.
This landmark event, the most significant gathering of Catholic journalists in Africa, will bring together media professionals, researchers, and experts in digital technology from across the continent and beyond.
The theme for the Congress is: “Balancing Technological Progress and the Preservation of Human Values in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
Congress Highlights
The UCAP Congress 2025 will feature discussions and deliberations on critical issues arising from or related to integral human development, particularly within the framework of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Some of the key sub-themes to be addressed include:Corporate Social Responsibility in Managing the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Human Values, Deploying AI in Eco-friendly Business Start-ups in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges, Technology and the Reprogramming of Social Reality, Distortion of Reality in Social and Digital Media, Ecological Education and Action Against Unsustainable Exploitation of Natural Resources, and Media and the Promotion of the Recommendations of the Synod on Synodality in Africa.
Participants will include media professionals from both ecclesiastical and lay organisations, media researchers and academics, representatives from the Vatican, government agencies, NGOs, civil society, and the digital technology sector.
Objectives of the Congress
The primary goal of this Congress is to strengthen the capacities of media professionals and educate the public on the necessity of preserving human values amid rapid technological progress. Specific objectives include; Training 100 media practitioners in Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies, with a focus on balancing innovation and human values.
This will include promoting ethics and bioethics in technical research and technological innovations through media.
Advocating for human values such as respect for life, human dignity, charity, solidarity, and human rights and assessing the impact of technological progress to better understand the challenges, risks, and opportunities presented by AI will be part of the objectives.
UCAP is a continental organisation dedicated to promoting communication within the Catholic Church and its partners in Africa. With a mission to foster spiritual growth, collaboration, and responsible journalism, UCAP works to spread the Gospel, uphold human values, and support developmental initiatives across Africa and beyond.
UCAP is an independent, autonomous, non-political, and non-profit organisation comprising African Catholic journalists, communicators, academics, researchers, and institutions in various media fields.
