Ghana calls for fair representation for Africa on IMO Council

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By
Iddi Yire/Jennifer Quaye, GNA

Accra, Feb 10, GNA – Ghana has called
for fair representation for Africa on the International Maritime Organisation
(IMO) Council to enable the continent to play a major role in the maritime
industry.

Mr Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, the Minister of
Transport, who made the call, it would also enable the continent to put across
issues that affected the African Maritime Industry at the international level.

At the last IMO Assembly Session, only
three African countries namely: Egypt, Kenya and South Africa were elected to
serve on the Council.

“Clearly, African states are
underrepresented and we need to do more to increase our presence and
participation on the Council,” Mr Asiamah stated, on Monday, in a speech read
on his behalf, at the opening of the Fourth Executive Council Meeting of the
Association of African Maritime Administration (AAMA) in Accra.

“It is known that about 90 per cent of
Africa’s imports and exports are conducted by sea and that 38 out of the 54
States in Africa are Coastal, yet the statistics of Africa’s share of the
international seaborne trade are not encouraging,” he said.

Mr Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus Glover, a
Deputy Minister of Transport, opened the two-day meeting, which is being hosted
by the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), is being attended by more than 40
participants drawn from across the African continent.

They would deliberate pertinent issues
relating to the African Maritime Sector.

Mr Asiamah said the AAMA must also take
steps to coordinate and strengthen the work of the African Permanent
representatives at the IMO, and encourage members to take common positions on
maritime issues affecting Africa and articulate these positions at the IMO.

The African Union through its
development agenda had initiated the African Integrated Maritime Strategy
(AIMS) to regulate and manage maritime issues and resources within the African
Maritime Domain, he stated.

“Regrettably, the (AU) does not have a
Maritime wing to see to harmonisation and development of this very important
agenda,” he said.

He said the AAMA was in a unique
position and should, therefore, engage the AU with a view to ensuring that
maritime issues were placed high on its agenda.

He said the role of the AAMA had become
more relevant in the era of the blue economy, when Africa was aiming at a
structural transformation through sustainable economic progress and social
development by tapping into the many benefits the seas and inland waters had to
offer.

The maritime industry was the backbone
of most economies across the world, he noted.

Mr Thomas Alonsi, the Director-General,
Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) expressed concern over the number of rising
kidnapping cases on the Gulf of Guinea.

“It is evident by reports from the
International Maritime Bureau showing that even though there was a decline in
overall worldwide incidents of piracy last year (2019), there was an alarming
increase in crew kidnappings across the Gulf of Guinea,” he said.

“The number of crew kidnapped in this
area increased by more than 50 per cent from 78 in 2018 to 121 in 2019.”

He said the International trade (and for
that matter maritime transport) was critical to almost all African economies,
adding that, the maritime trade and sustainability of Africa’s marine resources
would develop further only if the marine environment was safe and secured.

Mr Sobantu T. Tilayi, Chairman, AAMA,
said the AAMA Executive Council was made up of representatives of Central
Africa (Cameroun and Cape Verde), West Africa (Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana), East
Africa (Tanzania and the Comoros), Southern Africa (Mozambique and South
Africa), North Africa (Egypt and Sudan) and Uganda representing the landlocked
countries.

The choice of the countries in the
Executive Council was to ensure geographical spread.

He announced that the Fifth AAMA
Executive Council Meeting would be held in the last quarter of the year in
Durban, South Africa.

GNA