GCNet enhances trade facilitation

Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet) says the US$25 million investment in its operations is aimed at ensuring domestic revenue enhancement and compliance with the World Trade Organisations trade facilitation regulations.

This has ensured the development of a secured and robust virtual private network which includes acquisition of a radio frequency with broadband fibre-optic links powered by satellite systems.

The investment has over the years made a significant improvement in revenue collection at all collection points connected to the system, thereby plugging most sources of revenue leakage and augmenting transparency of operations.

Emmanuel Darko, Deputy General Manager, GCNet, made these disclosures in an interview with B&FT in Accra and explained that GCNet has been established to develop and operate a customised electronic system for processing trade and customs documents, recording the results of this validation and processing and its related duty and tax payments.

The service - which covers 98 percent of all customs-related trade including imports, exports, warehousing, free zones and transit transactions country-wide in 2008 - recorded a revenue increase of GH¢13.67 million, indicating an increase of 37 percent from the previous figure of GH¢12.38million.

“The Service has been established to enhance domestic revenue collection through business process re-engineering and integration of income tax and value added tax administration.

“GCNet has successfully executed its corporate mission to date to become the foremost public-private partnership for the provision of enhanced solutions for trade facilitation and revenue mobilisation in the country and the sub-region,”

Mr. Darko disclosed that currently 40 Ministries, Department and Agencies have been connected to the platform to ensure trade facilitation; to improve the country’s export competitiveness; and to attract export-oriented investors.

He indicated that GCNet will continue to invest in ICT infrastructure, hardware and software to ensure that its operating systems are stable, reliable and secure to meet its high operational standards and requirements.

“This ICT capacity has also been developed with substantial flexibility and scalability to meet client-needs and emerging exigencies.

“In spite of the current hardware capacity, GCNet is committed to a programme of new investments in ICT to ensure that it deploys systems at the cutting edge of technology which meet international best practices.”

Employing international standards electronic systems to support CEPS and other government agencies for their operations at the ports, GCNet has assisted Ghana to become one of the most efficient countries in Africa with regard to import and export valuation and clearance at the ports.

Presently GCNet - in collaboration with its partners including CEPS and the Ghana Shippers Authority - is leading implementation of the single window concept in the region which allows the effective monitoring and clearance of goods in transit through various countries.

Mr. Drako promised the network would continue to deliver excellent services through continuous investment in ICT infrastructure.

The operations of GCNet has become a hallmark in the port management industry of the country and is being hailed by other countries who are adopting it, he said.
Industry operators from the Shippers Council have acknowledged the enormous benefit of the system attributing it to the significant improvement in port clearance time - achieved through the speed of process and elimination of duplicated paperwork.

GCNet was incorporated in 2000 as a private-public sector partnership, with CEPS, Ghana Shippers Authority, Ecobank Ghana Limited, Development Finance Holding (a subsidiary of Ghana Commercial Bank) and Societe General de Surveillance, as shareholders.

In addition, the intervention of GCNet has enhanced trade facilitation through improvements in the processes for company registration and the issuance of documentation through the deployment of an electronic portal for government MDAs.