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New ICUMS bags GH¢490m in 2 weeks …poised to surpass average GH¢920 monthly revenue collected this year
The new Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) which became fully operational at Ghana’s ports this month has generated GH¢490 million between June 1 and 17, 2020
Acting Commissioner-General of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, who disclosed this yesterday in Accra, said, that based on average collections from January to May this year, the new system was on course to surpass or match the monthly average revenue of GH¢920 million collected by the GCnet system from January to May this year.
He noted that the collected revenue contradict opinion that the Authority was in line to make losses by deploying the ICUMS.
“So far, notwithstanding the earlier implementation challenges, the system generated GH¢490 million from June 1 to 17, 2020. Looking at this trend, it is obvious that the GRA will not be losing revenue as being highlighted by some sections of society,” he stated.
The system, Mr Owusu-Amoah said, has so far processed 53,000 Customs Bill of Entry (BOEs) nationwide with 16,000 of these submitted at Tema while 12,000 relates to pre-manifest processes.
Out of the total Tema BOEs, about 11,000 have been successfully processed while about 5,000 of the BOEs were at various stages of processing at Customs Technical Services Bureau (CTBS), he indicated.
The 4,000 BOEs, which have been delayed, according to the Acting Commissioner-General, was due to unanswered queries by declarants for the necessary supporting documents, mostly requirements by Ministries, Departments and Agencies such as permits and fees, manifest mismatch and to effect corrections.
Earlier, the system, he said, was confronted with Tax Identification Number (TIN) not populating at the front-end of declarant, which has been resolved, and co-loading and manifest matching which has been addressed with alternative arrangements for all importers who still have challenges with it.
Additionally, the GRA has intensified training of staff and importers in collaboration with the Freight Forwarders Associations to build their capacity and make it user friendly, Mr Owusu-Amoah stated.
He added that “We have established a call centre and support service desks both at the Tema Long Room and at the CTSB to deal with complaints of declarations for speedy resolution. In addition, a toll free number has been established to address the concerns of the trading public.”
He further assured importers that the GRA was engaging the Ministry of Trade and Industry and all other stakeholders to tackle concerns about demurrage in the system adding that “the Customs Division is up to deal with any challenge which will arise from implementation of ICUMS.”
Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Emmanuel Ohene, Sector Commander of Accra and Head of the Technical Implementation Committee of ICUMS, noted that the GRA has projected that it would commence 48-hour end-to-end clearance processes at the port effectively in the next six months to achieve the system’s set goals.
Unlike ICUMS, he explained that previous systems were not able to conduct end-to-end clearance for the three segments which include pre-arrival, clearance and post-clearance.
Source: Ghanaian Times
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age
The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.
This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature before they become sexually active.
“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the opportunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.
Dr Commeh stated this in an interview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.
According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.
She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”
She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.
“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have eliminated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.
Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccination is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.
She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.
She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.
However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunately, there are a few women whose HPV persists.
Moreover, she noted that the numbers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of medications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”
Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for prevention and control.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
