The Ghana Shippers Authority faced a grilling session before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, as lawmakers questioned their financial practices and debt recovery efforts.
Despite commending the authority’s financial performance, which saw a significant improvement in surplus from GH¢30 million to GH¢59 million, the committee sought clarity on the source of “other incomes” contributing to this increase.
The head of finance explained that it was primarily due to exchange gains from translating financial assets.
A more pressing concern for the committee was the authority’s debt collection efforts.
The Auditor General’s report revealed that 101 shipping companies owed a combined total of GH¢52,503,004 to the authority and the Ghana Maritime Authority, of which GH¢26,251,707 was overdue.
While the Ghana Shippers Authority’s management reported taking steps to recover these debts, including sending notices, engaging with the Registrar General’s office, and hiring a lawyer, the committee expressed dissatisfaction with the slow progress.
They questioned the effectiveness of these measures and sought to understand why such a significant amount of debt remained outstanding.
The management clarified that they had focused on recovering the 50% share of the debt owed to the Ghana Shippers Authority, which amounted to GH¢26.2 million, and had collected GH¢12.5 million from this portion.
However, the committee remained unconvinced, raising concerns about the lack of a clear policy on debtors and the potential for impairment of overdue debts.
In response, the management assured the committee that they had developed an accounting manual with measures to address these issues.
However, the lawmakers emphasized the need for more robust and proactive debt collection strategies to prevent such large amounts of debt from accumulating in the future.
