The Head of Freight and Logistics at the Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA), Fred Asiadu Darteh, has called on vessel owners to come to the table to discuss and negotiate freight rates before slumping charges on shippers.
According to him, the relationship between the vessel owner and the shipper has been a “take or leave it” situation which has brought about the warranted cost to the shipper who later on passes it to the consumer.
Mr. Asiedu-Dartey was speaking on the sidelines of a three-day summit on unfair shipping surcharges and high local shipping charges on the economies of West and Central African states, held in Nigeria.
Mr. Asiedu-Dartey emphasized that, as part of the agreement and recommendations at the summit, the Ghana shippers Authority would ensure that shippers in the country participate in the decision-making process of the charges they pay for freight.
The three days meeting of the Union of the African Shippers included a summit, workshop and a joint standing committee meeting of the union of African shippers and” and was ably represented by the various shippers’ councils in the sub region, including the Ghana Shippers Authority, the Nigerian shipper’s council and others.