Minister for Harbours and Railways, Ameyaw-Akumfi, has stressed the importance of Information and Communication Technology for the shipping industry.
Speaking in Accra yesterday, Ameyaw-Akumfi described the impact of the ICT revolution as "immeasurable", calling on the trading sector to make full use of the increasing ease of global business transactions and communications:
"The ICT revolution brings in its wake increased efficiency effectiveness, productivity and competitiveness. No country can afford to isolate itself from the benefits of ICT."
The minister stressed the relevance of ICT to the shipping industry in particular, urging the Union of African Shippers Council to become ICT compliant in all their shipping and shipping-related transactions.
He went on to praise Ghana's previous advances in the ICT sector, such as the establishment of an Electronic Dater Interchange (the GCNet system), which ensures the efficient clearance of transit goods through customs, and the Electronic Tracking Module introduced by Ghana Customs, enabling the tracking of transit cargoes through Ghana's corridors, without compromising the speed of transit.
The minister also touched on the problem of congestion in Ghana"s ports, assuring the shipping industry that the government would leave "no stone unturned" to mitigate the problem.
Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi"ssaid this at a seminar on Transit Trade and the Convention of Contracts for the Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea.
Experts from around twenty member countries of the UASC were in attendance, and they discussed a range of critical issues facing the shipping industry.
