I have finally put pen to paper, or better still, finger to iPad.I am writing about my experience with shipping a car to Ghana from the United States. A car bought with hard-earned money – a car whose only “crime” was to go to Ghana.BackgroundSo let’s start from the very beginning. This car was picked up from the house on April 1, 2026, to be shipped to the port at Tema. We later asked for a tracking number for the ship but were not given one. The shipper, let’s call him Double D, is a known and trusted shipper, so even though I was uncomfortable with his position, there was nothing I could do. We were told the car would get to Tema in approximately two months.The drama beginsOne day in the first week of July 2026, we were notified that the ship bearing the car and its contents had arrived at Tema. We were told that someone would call us. After waiting several days in vain, I asked for a number so I could call Double D’s agent or representative in Ghana. I was given a number, and I called on July 7, 2026. I finally reached a person who told me that the model of the car I was giving him was different from what he had been told. I asked if there were no documents from the shipper to back my claim. He said he would not give me the agent’s number till he was sure I was right. It took another THREE days before this person finally agreed that my assertion on the model of the car was true. Note: I called him. He did not call me. This was July 10, 2026. He then proceeded to give me the number of the Agent.Enter “Emma“.My first call to “Emma”, the agent, was at 11:01 am on Friday, July 10, 2026, the same day I received her number. I introduced myself and told her “my mission”. She asked me to send her pictures of my Ghana Card and assured me that if my money was ready, she would clear the car in a week. Wonderful news! I told her my money was ready and I would wait for further and better particulars on when, how much and what account to pay the duty into. I proceeded to send her pictures of my Ghana Card. I documented my messages to her as I did not want to rely on phone conversations alone – thanks to my decades in public service. And also, as you may have hitherto noticed, I’m particular like that. I asked her to let me know what else I had to do, as time was of the essence. She then told me we would have to pay a container fee and also demurrage. Whaaaaat! I asked why we were being asked to pay demurrage when we had just been notified that the ship had arrived at Tema. Several telephone conversations later, we agreed that, as time was of the essence, we would pay the said demurrage and deal with Double D later – all this bearing in mind that our goods were not the only goods in the container and the demurrage was NOT our responsibility.On Monday, July 13, 2026, I asked via WhatsApp how much we had to pay for the container fee. On July 14, 2026, I sent a reminder. At 8:00 am on July 15, 2026, I called our nephew “Edem” and asked him to assist in this matter. He then took over and started dealing with Emma directly.On Thursday, July 16, Emma told Edem she would send the duty information to us by 8:00 pm. 8:00 pm came and went, klanaa, that is, nothing was sent.On Friday, July 17, 202,6 at 9:41 pm, I got a WhatsApp message from Emma: a Bill of Entry. There was no further information – was that deliberate or a mistake? It was too late to pay, so I had to wait till the following Monday to pay the duty.Upon further inquiry, she sent WhatsApp messages with various charges, including demurrage of GHC xxx and several other charges. On Saturday July 18, 2026, I asked via WhatsApp for a proper invoice for all these other charges. The invoices were sent on Sunday, July 19, 2026 – on a holy day when my only duty was to attend church, meditate and rest.First thing Monday, July 20, 2026, I hot-footed it to my bank to go and pay the duty. On my way to the bank, Edem called me to say I had to pay another fee to Customs in addition to the duty, so he would get Emma to send the information. I paid both amounts and sent evidence of payment to Emma even before I exited the bank.The drama beginsSomewhere in all this matter, Edem found out that the ship arrived in Ghana on May 20, 2026, six whole weeks or more before we were notified. To date, Emma has not mentioned this. There was a lot of back and forth with her about when Edem could pick up the car. He sent a driver to Tema twice to pick up the car, and Emma was not forthcoming. She claimed a certain form had been completed erroneously, so it had to be corrected in the system.On Tuesday, July 21, 2026, Edem called me to say I had to go and pay the demurrage at the bank. Nigel Mansell had nothing on me that day. I sped to the bank and made the aforementioned payment with haste, praying that it would finally secure the release of the car. I left Ghana that day, terribly disappointed and upset that I was not able to bring the car home. The following day, on my arrival at my destination, I was asked to make another payment, which I did. I shall not mention the amounts I paid for obvious reasons, but please note that the money was “not coins”.After a couple of days, Edem called to tell me that apparently the cap for paying duty was 60 days and I had paid on day 61. I was not amused, to say the least. I had badgered Emma to send me the duty for days, and she did not. I’m sure she knew the clock was ticking and our time was running out. So now what to do? Short of juju and tricks, as my friend says, we had to employ other tactics to secure our car. We called on other friends and family to see who could help. Somewhere in all this, Emma had gone quiet. She did not answer her phone. I sent her a message, and she cleverly side-stepped the issue of the car. I sent a reminder to address my question. Silence. Till today.At some point, we were told that the car had been impounded. It had been put on an Unclaimed Car List (UCL). How was this even possible when, on the day I paid the duty, it indicated our interest in claiming the car? I need clarification on this matter.On Thursday, July 23, 2026, Emma issued more payment invoices – two separate invoices for the tax bill (penalty). Edem quickly went to pay these amounts. There was more drama with those invoices at the bank, but I’ll spare you that because Edem spared me the details at the time. Emma had done it again. Still, our car was not released.In the last two weeks, Emma has been like what the Fantes call samanta. If you know, you know. She has been invited to meet with people helping to resolve this issue, and she has not shown up. Last week we were advised that the car had been unclaimed for 70 days. Several attempts to resolve this matter proved futile. Each day we were told a different story. Emma had made errors in completing the forms, and these could only be rectified by her. But Emma at this point had become more elusive than the great Harry Houdini himself. We were now racing against time to get this matter reversed and resolved so that we could remove the car from whatever list, car lot or garage where it was languishing. For personal reasons, I’ll end the saga here.But finally, GOD MOVED.Glory to God. The car was finally released on Thursday, August 6, 2026, at about 4:00 pm.Between a Shipper and a Clearing Agent in our beloved Ghana, our experience has been a very unpleasant one. What we thought was a simple process became a veritable nightmare of errors, mistakes, more errors and disappointments. We pray that this does not happen to anyone. If it’s already happened to you, then know that you’re not alone. May this not be the story of Ghana. I know we can do better than this.May the responsible agencies kindly ensure that this does not continue to happen in our Motherland, Ghana.Efua AbbanAugust 6, 2026