The Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association, Sampson Asaaki Awingobit, has registered his excitement over President Akufo-Addo’s decision on opening the country’s air borders in September this year.
Ghana’s air and land borders have been closed since March following the advent of the coronavirus pandemic.
Delivering his speech on Sunday, August 16, 2020 President Akufo-Addo intimated that, “I know many still ask when our borders, especially our international airport, Kotoka International Airport, will be opened. Under my instructions, the Ministry of Aviation, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and the Ghana Airports Co. Ltd., have been working, with the Ministry of Health and its agencies, to ascertain our readiness to reopen our airport.
“I want to ensure that we are in a position to test every single passenger that arrives in the country to avoid the spread of the virus. The outcome of that exercise will show us the way, and determine when we can reopen our border by air. I am hoping that, by God’s grace, we will be ready to do so by 1st September”.
That notwithstanding, the President stressed the fact that borders remain closed to human traffic with exceptions made to stranded Ghanaians abroad.
“For Ghana residents stranded abroad, a special dispensation will continue to be given for their evacuation back to Ghana, where they will be subjected to the mandatory quarantine and safety protocols”.
President Akufo-Addo
The closure of borders have had damning effects on most businesses, including the importation of cargo into the country.
Reacting to this, Sampson Asaaki Awingobit, lauded the President’s announcement, saying that business will come back to normal should the airport be opened for international flights.
“What I realised is that because of COVID-19, with rice importation, for instance, Vietnam and others had placed a partial ban to their produce because they didn’t know what would happen so they put security in their country. They said they were not going to allow imports, so that caused the price of some importers’ items to go up high.”
“So generally, I would say that though our borders were open for goods, it is people who have to go and bring the goods. So if that person does not travel in and out, definitely it will have an impact on that. So we are happy that at the end of the day, the government is preparing to open up our borders for travellers and we are hoping that all the protocols will be put to best practice so that we would not increase the [COVID-19] numbers,” he stated.
Although the border closure did not affect persons involved in the cargo business, their inability to travel out of the country to purchase their goods have affected them badly.
They have over time complained of a reduction in revenue since the transfer of goods has become difficult due to other restrictions imposed in other countries as well.
Some of the importers suggest they may even close down their shops because they are running out of stock and cannot afford purchasing new goods.
