The government has drawn a firm line in its protracted dispute with shipping companies and their agents, insisting that the approved GH¢720 Container Administrative Charge must be collected before any further negotiations can take place.
Minister of Transport and Member of Parliament for Saboba, Joseph Bukari Nikpe, said the government’s position follows a High Court ruling that dismissed an application seeking to block implementation of the charge at Ghana’s ports.
Shipping Firms Seek Out-of-Court Settlement
Speaking in an interview with Bernard Avle on Channel One TV’s The Point of View on Wednesday, September 9, Mr Nikpe revealed that lawyers for the affected companies had approached the government to resume negotiations outside court.
“As I’m talking to you, their lawyers have reached out to us that they will want us to continue the conversation out of court, and we are telling them that before we will agree, they will have to be collecting or charging the GH¢720 as we communicated to them before we can sit together with them,” he said.
The GH¢720 charge represents the regulatory ceiling for the Container Administrative Charge, also known as the local handling charge, which applies to import and export containers measured by Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU).
Background: From $165 to GH¢720
The dispute traces back to a Ministry of Transport and Agencies retreat held approximately four months ago, where government officials identified the high cost of doing business at Ghana’s ports as a critical concern.
“It was at this meeting we agreed that the cost of doing business at the port was too high and we needed to do something as a ministry and government. So we charged the Shippers Authority to go into all the charges in the port and see which of them we were going to cut or work on to bring some relief to our people,” Mr Nikpe explained.
The Container Administrative Charge was initially $165 per container, but the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) reviewed port charges and recommended reducing it by $115 to $50, equivalent to about GH¢550 at the time.
Stakeholder Pushback and Interim Measures
However, freight forwarders and importers petitioned the government against the implementation, citing inadequate education, sensitisation, and stakeholder engagement. The government subsequently held about seven meetings with affected stakeholders to address their concerns.
According to Mr Nikpe, stakeholders later raised concerns that implementing the GH¢50 charge could lead to job losses among Ghanaian workers.
“These were the Ghanaian workers who petitioned us for us to do something, if not that they were going to be laid off, and we said okay, we wanted to listen to them and as interim, for a period of one month, we were going to listen to all their issues so they should pay $65, which translated to GH¢720,” he said.
Legal Battle and Court Ruling
Before consultations could be concluded, the affected shipping companies and agents went to court seeking an injunction to stop implementation of the charge. The High Court dismissed the application on July 10, 2026, allowing the GSA to enforce its May 11, 2026 Regulatory Directive capping the Container Administrative Charge at GH¢720 per TEU.
The court held that the directive had already taken effect upon issuance and that granting the injunction would impede the statutory regulatory mandate of the GSA.
Mr Nikpe said the companies subsequently sought a stay of execution following the court’s dismissal of their injunction application.
Industry Calls for Enforcement
Meanwhile, industry players have called for action against some shipping lines and their agents allegedly charging above the approved GH¢720 container administrative charge.
The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG) has accused some shipping operators of openly disregarding both the Authority’s directive and the High Court ruling, citing invoices allegedly issued by Pacific International Lines (PIL) and MSC Ghana Limited showing charges significantly above the approved cap.
The Exim Frozen Foods Association of Ghana (EFFAG) has similarly called on authorities to sanction shipping lines that continue to charge importers above the approved cap, warning that higher port charges would ultimately be passed on to consumers.
The Ghana Shippers’ Authority has estimated that the measure could generate savings of approximately GH¢802.5 million for shippers and promote a more competitive business environment at Ghana’s ports.
Government Remains Open to Dialogue
Mr Nikpe said the government remains open to further discussions with the affected companies, but only after the GH¢720 charge is being collected as directed.
The government’s firm stance underscores its commitment to reducing the cost of doing business at Ghana’s ports while ensuring compliance with regulatory directives and court rulings.
