Ports urged to operate in line with international standards

Tema, Oct. 6, GNA - Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, Minister of Ports, Harbours and Railways on Monday called on governments in the West and Central Africa to come out with conscious policies and programmes to effect the needed reforms in the port industry.

He noted that the wind of change blowing in the international transport industry requires vigorous and strategic confrontation so that they are not pushed into doldrums.

Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi was opening a four-day international mid-term meeting of the technical committees of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) in Tema.

The PMAWCA, formed 31 years ago, comprises 23 members, representing 20 coastal countries on the Mauritania-Angola axis.

Prof Ameyaw-Akumfi said the universality of trade called for a new look at the role of international transportation, which is not spared by the transitional period passing through the world.

In order to face the new challenges in attitudes and policies of port management, ports must take into account all operations and activities that come into play from the production period to the consumer and be commercial orientated.

"The context within which ports operate is changing and demands the play of new roles to undergo important evolution to meet current challenges in attitudes and policies of port management." Mr Julien Fernand Gauze, Secretary-General of PMAWCA, called for regular remittances of annual contribution for the sustenance of the association.

Mr Ben Owusu-Mensah, Director-General of the GPHA, noted that ports are vulnerable to terrorists' threats, thereby putting severe pressure on international organisations like the IMO to come out with regulations to make ports safer and more secured.

He called for the enactment of the international code for security of ships and port facilities to provide standardized and consistent framework for evaluating risk.

Mr Owusu-Mensah asked port authorities to facilitate governments' efforts to comply with the requirements of the code, by offering financial and technical support when necessary.