Western Regional Director of Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), Rev. Dr. Peter Azumah, Issaka, has lamented that his outfit was bedeviled with infrastructural and human resource problems, which was making it difficult for them to carry out their duties.
He mentioned that the lack of office space, patrol boats and inadequate technical staff members to police the ports and other offshore domains were major challenges militating against his outfit.
According to him, only two technical officers do the day-to-day caustic control and plastic implementation including offshore security audits and inspections.
He indicated that maritime domain and electronic surveillance systems were done by the other staff members bringing the total workforce to 13.
This, he lamented, was woefully inadequate, considering the volume of work they do.
Rev Dr. Azumah made this disclosure when the Minister for Transport, Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, visited GMA as part of his two-day familiarisation tour of the maritime sector in the region.
He described the visit as ‘timely and appropriate’ since it would give the minister the opportunity to see in practical terms the needs of the authority.
For his part, the minister said one of the primary objectives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government is to strengthen regulatory bodies to be effective and efficient in regulating their respective industries.
To this end, he urged that he will liaise with the other stakeholders to resource GMA to perform their functions properly.
He said there was the need to strengthen the authority with human capacity and financial resources.
Hon Asiamah hinted that he has tasked the Takoradi Port administration to liaise with the Ghana Railway Authority to provide a land for the provision of an office complex for the GMA.
He, therefore, tasked Rev Dr. Azumah to prepare a proposal to that effect.
Among places visited by the minister included the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), Bosomtwe Sam Fishing Harbour (BSFH), State Transport Company (STC) terminal, Metro Mass Transit terminal (MMTL), Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA) and Viking Offshore, Belmet Site and General Electric Site all at the Takoradi Port.
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