Acting Director General of GPHA, Michael Luguje, as part of his familiarization journey to key business units of the Port Authority after resuming office, has embarked on a department to department visit in the operational area of Tema Port.
The four-day departmental tour saw the Acting Director General visiting the Golden Jubilee Terminal, Reefer Terminal, Materials Department as well as the Electricals department on the first day.
He interacted with staff to share his vision with them as well as get first-hand information with regards to their departmental operations.
Some of the staff raised some challenges.
“My problem is we have Dock Labour staff with Electrical department. I want to plead with you and the management that do your best, at least if it’s a contract you will give to them because they are working with expensive equipment,” a staff complained.
The Director General responded by saying that “when there is the need to employ someone on contract or on a permanent basis for the same job that maybe a casual labourer has done for so many years, I think the natural thing we should do is to consider that casual labourer to integrate him into that permanent situation that is the best thing to do.”
On the second day the Acting DG visited the Marine Operations Department, Marine Engineering Department, Terminal One, and Stevedoring Unit where he urged the staff to keep giving off their best in discharging their duties.
Another staff raised this issue “we also have container movement unit under Logistics that we have suffered a lot so it’s time we are promoted and our casuals too helped.”
“We have identified those who need to have been promoted for so many years but they didn’t get to do so and this is how we are going to graduate it gradually to make sure that over the next two or three years we will get to touch everybody as well as this promotion issue is concerned,” the Acting Director-General responded.
On the 3rd day, the Acting DG, visited the Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Logistics and the Monitoring Departments.
He was shown around the Port areas by the respective heads of departments.
On the fourth day, Michael Luguje visited Tema Port Revenue centre, Fire and safety department, Printing department, Fishing Harbour and the GPHA main Clinic.
The Acting DG, Michael Luguje visited the grounds to see for himself developments on the grounds of the company which he has taken charge of, and foster a good relationship with his employees.
He also took the opportunity to collate challenges being faced each of the departments and promised to address them afterwards.
“We will check to see the kind of training that you have requested and if some can still be done this year, why not, we will do that and then going into next year we look at the kind of refresher training that you need continuously so that you will be updated and you can do your job better,” he assured the staff.
Michael Luguje emphasized that it is in his open door policy that he solicits for the participation of all workers in improving upon their conditions at the Port.
He urged all staff to endeavour to cooperate with management to advance the organization to its desired heights.
He further urged the workers to obtain motivation from within themselves to give off their best in the discharge of their duties and they would be duly rewarded.