Gcnet and the Facilitation of International Trade at the Port of Tema

Abstract

Whether the inception of the GCNet at the port of Tema has aided better facilitation of international trade is the burden of this study. By use of the quasi experimental method and the administration of questionnaires in a survey to a purposively sampled group of respondents in addition to analysis of documents, it came to light that indeed, by the turn of the last century the situation at the port of Tema had become unwieldy and the state was losing vital revenue to inefficient International Trade Facilitation (ITF) processes, congestion and corruption. The study further identified that the introduction of the GCNet single window platform has reversed most of the ills of the facilitation of international trade at the port of Tema while bringing its activities in line with international practices with regard to ITF. While the GCNet has come to reduce these challenges, it needs fine tuning in order to stay relevant to the mounting demands on its operations. The study therefore recommends that, the platform seeks further improvement to reduce difficulty faced by some of its users by developing less cumbersome interfaces that are more user friendly, in addition to a more robust dedicated internet connectivity to ensure unobstructed communication.