Review custodial sentencing clause in Ghana Insurance Act – Importers & Exporters Association

• The Association is calling for a review of the custodial sentencing clause in the Ghana Insurance Act

•The clause prescribes a jail sentence for persons or entities who fail to comply with the Marine Insurance Policy

• The Association believes the clause is not business-friendly and counterproductive

The Importers and Exporters Association Ghana has urged for a review of the custodial sentencing clause as ascribed in the Ghana Insurance Act 2021.

According to Asaki Samson Awingobit, Executive Secretary of the Association, the law which prescribes a jail sentence for persons or entities who do not comply with the mandatory Marine Insurance Policy is one that is not business-friendly.

In an interaction with Citi Business News monitored by GhanaWeb, Samson Awingobit called on the trade minister and Parliament's select Committee on Trade to take a second look at the clause within the Act.

“We are therefore calling on the Trade Minister of Ghana and the parliamentary select committee on Trade, as a matter of urgency, to review the new law which we believe does not represent the vision of the current government to create an enabling environment for the trading sector.”

As part of efforts to increase insurance penetration in Ghana and particularly the maritime sector, Parliament earlier in February 2021 passed the New Insurance Law and was subsequently assented into law by the president.