World Bank rates Ghana high in logistics

• Posted on November 28, 2016
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Ghana has made progress in the Global Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2016, according to the 2016 World Bank Report on trade logistics in the global economy.

The report indicated that the country moved 12 places up from 100th in 2014 to 88th in 2016 out of 160 countries.

The bi-annual report, ‘Connecting to Compete 2016: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy,’ which ranks 160 countries on their trade logistics performance, is based on survey data from more than 1,200 logistics professionals.

This is the largest year-on-year increase in Ghana’s global LPI ranking since the survey was first undertaken in 2007.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of West Blue Consulting, which is implementing the Ghana National Single Window (GNSW) programme, Valentina Mintah said, “We are delighted with these results as they prove yet again the impact that the Single Window Programme is having on the performance of the Ghanaian economy.”

Customs Efficiency

She said many of the improvements in the report were directly related to the specific measures delivered under the GNSW Programme, such as improvements in timeliness and the operations of customs and related agencies.

“The efficiency of customs and border management clearance showed a marked improvement of 37 points with previous downward trends of -27 and -17 in 2014 and 2012 respectively.

“The frequency with which shipments reach consignees within scheduled or expected delivery times has also chalked up an improvement of 31 points compared to 12 and 17 in the years 2014 and 2012,” Ms Mintah said.

She said, “We expect these improvements to continue over the coming years as we roll out many additional deliverables under the GNSW Programme.

“We certainly cannot become complacent with these good results, as this is a very competitive environment.”

According to Ms Mintah, “Ghana has made great strides and we must continue steadfastly on this path to secure a dynamic and competitive trading environment in the country.”

She commended the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the GNSW Technical Committee, partner government agencies, business community and staff of West Blue, who she said played various roles to achieve this feat.

By Cephas Larbi