In continuation of its quest to make Africa compete favourably with other maritime nations in the world, Nigerian Government through the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is set to provide support to the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) through a proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside who made this known during a working visit by the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) to the Agency led by its Director General, Mr. Kwame Owusu stated that in carrying out its statutory functions, the Agency is strengthened by three important Acts of Parliament namely: the Merchant Shipping Act, the NIMASA Act and the Cabotage Act.
He also informed the GMA team that in order for NIMASA to actualize its core mandates which cuts across shipping development, maritime safety and security, maritime labour services, amongst others, the Agency is currently repositioning and rebranding for greater efficiency, geared towards realizing a virile maritime sector in line with global best practices.
“We have taken a number of initiatives to reform, restructure and reposition the organization; what we have now is not what we have always had, a lot has changed over time and you will get to learn from our own experience the life we lived and still living. Nobody realizes his vision overnight, our vision is work in progress with a focus on becoming the foremost maritime administration in Africa, advancing Nigeria’s maritime goal”, the DG stated.
In his response, the Director General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Mr. Kwame Owusu commended the doggedness of the Dr. Dakuku led Management of NIMASA in repositioning the Nigerian maritime sector and by extension the entire African continent.
He said “we are here to strengthen the bilateral relationships that exist between both countries and to learn international best practices from you”.
The delegation from Ghana came to learn and share part of the experience of NIMASA so that they can replicate same in their country.
The areas being considered for the MoU are; regular knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer, capacity building initiatives and Cabotage implementation/enforcement processes.
It may be recalled that the NIMASA DG was elected as the Chairman of the Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) during the 3rd Conference of the body that held in Abuja between April 19 – 21, 2017 and he has since shown determination in taking the African maritime sector to greater heights.
