The Coalition of Concerned Importers and Exporters, Traders and Freight Forwarders is demanding the immediate suspension of the Publican AI system being used at Ghana’s ports, citing serious disruptions to trade and rising costs for businesses.
Speaking on Good Afternoon Ghana on Metro TV on Thursday, April 9, 2026, Convener of the coalition, Michael Obiri Adjei, said the system has created more difficulties for importers instead of facilitating trade as promised.
According to him, the deployment of the system lacked proper stakeholder engagement and was introduced without adequate consultation with the trading community.
“So this whole system, one of the major concerns we’ve had with this system is that the whole process of the deployments were shrouded in some opaqueness,” he said.
“If you’re introducing such a system into the business community… you would need to carry along everybody within the trading community.”
He explained that although authorities claimed there was a pilot phase involving five companies, the broader trading community was only invited to a meeting in January where they were informed about the system, rather than consulted.
“We were called on the 14th of January this year to Oak Plaza and then they told us what the system was and what the system intends to do. In my view… that is not stakeholder consultation. You were just told that this is it,” he stated.
Mr Obiri Adjei said the system, which was introduced at the ports on March 12, has rather made trade more difficult and increased operational costs for businesses.
“Post the deployment of the system, the system has… made trade more burdensome. In fact, it is now more difficult for you to do business at the port than it was before the implementation of the system,” he said.
He raised concerns about changes to the appeal process, noting that traders with valuation disputes must now take their cases to the Ministry of Finance instead of resolving them at the port of entry.
“They say come to the Ministry of Finance… there’s a committee that would sit on your matter twice a week… You can imagine all the time that is being spent and the cost that comes to the person,” he explained.
Mr Obiri Adjei also accused the system of generating arbitrary customs values, which he believes is harming businesses and creating uncertainty in trade.
“We’re saying that the system is giving arbitrary values… contrary to what an AI should be doing, which should assist you in classification of goods, the AI is now giving you values,” he said.
He cited an example of what he described as excessive duty charges, claiming that a valuation for a vehicle had reached extremely high figures.
“We have a BOE here that shows that for a Toyota Volkswagen, the duty is about 7 million Ghana cedis… Clearly arbitrary. These are figures that the AI is churning out,” he stated.
He further alleged that directives from authorities require customs officers to select the higher valuation between the AI system and their own assessment, which he says violates existing laws and creates unfair conditions for businesses.
“Business thrives on predictability… you don’t come to Ghana’s port of entry and they start to give you arbitrary values. That kills trade,” he stressed.
The coalition, in a letter to the Finance Ministry, has already called for the immediate suspension of the Publican AI system pending a comprehensive review and alignment with Ghana’s legal framework and international trade obligations.
They argue that persistent delays, high duty assessments, and disruptions at the ports are causing financial losses and threatening the stability of the trading environment.
The group says it remains open to dialogue with government but insists urgent action is needed to address the challenges at the ports.
Source: metrotvonline.com
