Lt. Col. Larry Gbevlo Lartey, National Security Coordinator
Some foreign nationals, particularly Indians, with some Ghanaian collaborators in the Customs Excise and Preventive Service division (CEPS) of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA,) have still been exporting banned-scrap metals on the blindside of National Security operatives at the Tema Port, Today has found out.
This is contrary to a Ministry of Trade and Industry ban on the exportation of scrap metals in 2013, aimed at protecting the five local steel manufacturing companies in Tema.
The paper’s investigations revealed that some Indians in the industry are covertly exporting scraps, without recourse to the Parliamentary Act that placed the ban on the export.
Chairman of Steel Manufacturing Association of Ghana (SMAG,) Mr. J. Patel, in a letter dated January 21, 2014 addressed to the Minister of Trade and Industry, Haruna Iddrisu, stated that on January 15, 2014, a company which he failed to name but run by Indians at the Tema Heavy Industrial area, shipped twenty (20) containers of ferrous scrap-metals from the Tema Port to some destinations in Asia.
The SMAG’s report named the following containers numbers as MSKU 8773870, MSKU 8490680, MSKU 7017312, MSKU 7303430, MSKU 3010477, MSKU 8200138, MSKU 9247588, MSKU 3497112, MSKU 8020820, MSKU 5890643, MSKU7744967, MSKU 7552990, MSKU 8543184, MSKU 8971921, MSKU 84592263, MSKU 9487001, MSKU 9685610, MSKU 2477235, MSKU 8001305 and MSKU 948444 as the vessels used for the export of the scrap metals.
The Steel Manufacturers Association of Ghana (SMAG) raised this alarm over the abuse of an opportunity, which was opened for a number of enterprises to export non-ferrous scrap metals.
Most of these companies, the association noted, are rather exporting the ferrous scrap metals with impunity, because there is no check on them from their loading yards before the export.
The steel manufacturers letter further stated that the ministry of trade and industry between August and October 2013, gave approval to seven companies to export non-ferrous scrap metals, but customs has not been supervising the loadings at the scrap yards.
And this is giving the entities the leeway to stuff the containers with the ferrous scrap metals, which exportation has been banned, Today discovered.
Sector Minister, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, appended his signature to all letters granting the approval to Blanco Recycling to export only brass from dismantled ships, copper cable from fridge motors, and lead from car battery cells.
Under that arrangement FIDEV Company Limited was permitted to export only 20 metric tons of copper scrap metals; Everest Metals Recycling Ltd exports 150 metric tons of roofing steels, car radiators, car engine parts and bits and pieces of non-ferrous; Potrodom International Limited exports 200 tons of aluminum and 40 tons of copper; N.N. Est. Metal Company was also granted permit to export 1000 tons of aluminum, 380 tons of copper, 220 tons of brass and 50 tons of zinc.
The rest are Nestle Ghana Ltd., which has the approval to export copper off-cuts, and Verve Global Ghana, 1000 tons of aluminum scrap metals only.
The minister’s letters advised the companies to take note that the approval letters are not transferable and valid for a period of six (6) months and shall not be construed as a blanket approval to operate beyond the duration of six (6) months.
Copies of the said letters were sent to the Commissioner of Customs Division of Ghana Revenue Authority, and the Director-General, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority to facilitate shipment of the items.
Today’s further investigations, however, revealed that even though customs sector commanders were directed about two years ago to ensure that before containers are loaded with scrap items, officers must be present, that directive is not being adhered to, bringing to the fore a lot of security implications.
The loaded containers are only said to contain items the shipper decides to manifest and not necessarily the actual content.
Director of Port, Tema, Mr. Jacob Adorkor, when contacted on the allegation that some exporters were shipping banned ferrous scrap metals, said the doors of the authority are open to national security issues.
“If intelligence comes from the security agencies to suspect any container to be carrying goods which are not prescribed by law, the authority is ready to assist, by stopping and opening the said container for further examination,” he said.
Efforts to get CEPS to explain why its personnel are not available in the yards when containers were being loaded with scrap metals for export proved futile.
A national security source, however, said its operations are tailored to support customs who have the final duty to release containers before they are shipped and so until information comes there is little that it can do.
Meanwhile, the Concerned Scrap Dealers Association in Ghana has taken a swipe at the Minister for Trade and Industry, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, in the amendment of the bill that was placed on the exportation of scrap metals to protect the local steel industry last year.
According to the group, even though they have earlier commended the minister for the bold initiative he took to have the wholesale ban placed on the importation of scrap metals, the delay in having the bill fully amended is gravely affecting its members.
Spokesperson of the group, Mr. Bernard Marfo, made this observation in an interaction with a cross-section of some media personnel in Accra recently.
He said the minister in his dealings with the leadership of the association gave a ninety-day moratorium for the preparation of the bill to amend the wholesale ban on the exportation of scraps in the country.
“The ninety-day moratorium has elapsed and we are not seeing anything on the part of the minister which indicates that he [the minister] is now relaxed to have the bill go through the necessary processes,” the spokesperson said.
He said about some weeks ago, the President of Steel Manufacturers Association of Ghana (SMAG,) Mr. J. Patel, in a letter dated January 21, 2014 and addressed to Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, called on him not to compromise his stands on the ban of scrap metals.
“We are by this media interaction demanding some answers to the delay that has characterised the presentation of the bill to Parliament,” he posited.
He reminded the trade ministry to take concrete steps towards taking a second look at the issue because the ban is pushing a huge number of the youth who engage scraps out of employment.
He explained that Hon. Haruna Iddrisu had held series of meetings with the leadership of the association to reconsider the decision to get Parliament to relax the law for a window of opportunities for dealers but nothing has come out of those meetings.
He said at one of the meetings with the minister, “the chairman of SMAG was asked to name the materials that they do not need. And it was upon this that the minister gave the directive for an amended bill to be prepared and sent to Parliament for consideration when it reconvenes but Parliament has reconvened and no mention of the bill has been announced.”
He said that since the coming into force of the trade ministry’s wholesale ban on the scrap metals, the local industry players have taken undue advantage of the ban to cheat scrap dealers and that they want the ban to continue so, they can perpetuate their act of giving dealers raw deals.
He reminded the sector minister of the promise he made to members at the last meeting held at the ministry’s conference room.
He stated that the association is not against government’s efforts to protect the local industries that equally employ Ghanaians.
But, noted that what they want the trade ministry to do is to relax the ban, to allow scrap dealers to export the materials that are rejected by the five local steel industries operating in Tema, namely; Western Steel, Ferro Fabrics, Special Steel, Tema Steel Works and Sentuo Steel.
“We want to be given the opportunity under the ban to export the following: steel balls, ductile steel, manganese, just to mention a few, which the local industries mainly owned by the Indians, and Jordanians do not have the capacity to melt, hence are thrown out after selecting what they want, that is ferrous metal,” he said.
Without mincing words, Mr. Marfo questioned the motive of the letter sent to the minister by the president of SMAG, alleging that some foreigners have been exporting scraps in the connivance of the Custom, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and some officials of the National Security to export scraps on the blindside of the ministry, was mischievous to have ban in place for them to perpetuate the raw deal they have meted out to dealers.
Source: Ghana | todaygh.com | FREEMAN KORYEKPOR AWLESU