US$3trn ocean economy gets local supply chain skills developmental boost

Ghanaian nationals, students of selected tertiary institutions, professional bodies, business schools, small businesses operating in Ghana’s maritime sector – especially those owned by women and the youth, are set to benefit from a national supply chain management skills development and awareness campaign focused on driving local growth and participation in the ocean economy.

With the global ocean economy valued at US$3 trillion annually, such training and skill development is expected to place Ghana at an advantageous position to benefit significantly.

Through a corporate citizenry partnership with Professor Boateng, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) will make limited copies of the world’s only inclusive supply chain management compendium available to select organisations and individuals operating in, among others, Ghana’s maritime supply chain sector.

Director General of the Port, Michael Luguje, said the organisation is pleased to co-sponsor the books, which it believes are supportive of sectorial efforts and the nation’s long-term industrialization and self-sufficiency drive.

“One of GPHA’s core mandate is to offer world-class maritime-related supply chain management services to our clients. It is certainly in our long-term interest for Ghanaians to understand the impact that supply chain management has on both the economy and the maritime sector. For GPHA, increased local value addition through service delivery quality will positively impact inward and outward traffic flows at our various ports, plus enable us to become the leading trade and logistics hub in the ECOWAS sub-region,” he said.

It is for this reason that GPHA decided to partner with Prof. Boateng in this strategically important national skills development initiative. “Without doubt, effective supply chain management is a key component of the future industrialisation of Ghana and the rest of Africa.

“This development initiative will innovatively help to create awareness about the various aspects of supply chain management, and will assist with the up-skilling of professionals operating in both the public and private sectors and within the maritime-related value chains,” affirmed Mr. Luguje.

Director-General of the GMA, Kwame Owusu, stressed that GMA’s mandate is to ensure an efficient, cost-effective and orderly provision of services in the shipping industry, in line with government policies. Essential to this is the continuous assessment of knowledge requirements in the maritime industry. Knowledge of the various aspects of supply chain management is rapidly emerging as critical to the success of this sector.

“For GMA, a better understanding of supply chain management will not only help with implementing policies for the development and maintenance of maritime infrastructure such as ports and harbours in the country and the emerging US$3trillion blue economy, but will also assist to regulate and monitor the activities of shipping agents, freight forwarders and similar shipping service providers,” he said.

Commenting on the partnership, Professor Boateng said: “Availability of the Compendium of Supply Chain Management Terms will increase national awareness of the inextricable link between supply chain management, Ghana’s long-term industrialisation, job-creation, public sector and state-owned institutional performance, and productivity improvement efforts”.

He added that the developed world has successfully used supply chain management to industrialise, improve government service delivery quality, create sustainable jobs, undertake value-addition to their resources, and promote small- to medium-size enterprise growth.

“Without SCM professional skills, coupled with a coherent and long-term supply chain management strategy, Ghana will not be able to achieve the Ghana Beyond Aid, the 17 UN SDGs and the 2030 vision,” he concluded.