Ghana's deployment of AI software at its main port successfully increased customs revenue, but revealed significant governance challenges in how the technology was implemented and operated.

African Arguments

In February 2026, the Ghana Revenue Authority deployed Publican AI at Tema Port —software that analyses import declarations, benchmarks values against global trade databases, and flags anomalies before clearance. Within weeks, customs revenue soared from GH₵2.4 billion to GH₵3.6 billion, with the system generating an average of $3 million a day in additional revenue. By any adoption metric, the deployment was a success. By any governance standard, serious operational problems quickly emerged. Tr