Port Shutdown Fear As Agents Strike Over AI Customs Rollout

The Coalition of Concerned Exporters, Importers, Traders and Freight Forwarders argues that the rollout of the “Publican AI” system by the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is fundamentally flawed and risks increasing the cost of doing business.

The coalition’s convenor, Michael Obiri-Agyei, raised concerns about how customs officers are applying the tool in practice. According to him, officials have been directed to compare their own valuation assessments with those generated by the AI system but are required to adopt the AI’s valuation when it is higher, while relying on their own figures only when those exceed the AI’s output.

He described the approach as inherently biased against traders, warning that it could distort pricing mechanisms and erode confidence in Ghana’s port operations.

“We are not against technology,” Mr. Obiri-Agyei clarified. “However, its implementation must be fair, transparent, and reflective of the realities within the trading environment.”

The coalition has called on the government to immediately suspend the system and engage industry stakeholders in a comprehensive review to ensure a more balanced and equitable framework.

Mr. Obiri-Agyei further alleged that the rollout was rushed, with insufficient training provided to customs officers. This, he said, has led to inconsistencies in application and raised concerns about the system’s overall effectiveness.

He cited discrepancies in valuation as a key issue, pointing to instances where similar consignments received significantly different assessments.

“There are two Bills of Entry for the same commodity,” he explained. “One with two containers was valued at 100,000, while another with just one container was valued at 500,000. Where is the parity?”

“We as citizens and business owners have legal means of protecting our economy,” Mr. Obiri-Agyei stated. “One of the options available to us is a sit-down strike.”