Stakeholders in transit business including importers, exporters, customs officials, security agents and food and drugs authority, converged on the Ghana-Burkina Faso border at Paga. The forum, which brought both Ghana and Burkinabe officials, discussed alignment of working hours at Paga-Dakola border, expansion of working hours and customs clearance processes and challenges. The forum was organized by the Ghana’s Shippers Council and the Border-less Alliance Initiative. The Upper East Regional Commander of CEPS, Assistant Commissioner, John Baptist Duma, acknowledged the role of customs in facilitating trade and pledged his outfit’s commitment in trade facilitation. He urged stakeholders especially the clearing agents to forward documents early enough to customs officials to ensure smooth operations. 
The Research Officer for the Ghana Shippers Council, Bashiru-Dine Abdul Haki, underscored the need for smooth flow of goods and persons across the sub-region in order to enhance sub-regional trade. He called on customs and other regulatory agencies at the Paga-Dakola border to harmonize their procedures, working hours and permitting regime so as to give shippers competitive edge in international trade. He bemoaned the dwindling transit trade through Ghana’s borders and called for appropriate measures to put in place to deal with the challenge. The Clearance Agent for Paga-Dakola Border, Alhaji Awudu, expressed concerned over the fact that transit trade to Mali and Niger through Ghana was almost lost to neighbouring ports in Togo, Benin and Nigeria. He called on all stakeholders to be concerned and pull their efforts together to safe the transit business through Ghana’s corridors.
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