Maritime Authority struggled to pay salaries under Mahama – Dep. Transport Minister

The Deputy Minister of Transportation, Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover has revealed that the Ghana Maritime Authority(GMA) was reeling under serious financial distress under the Mahama administration such that at a point in time it struggled to pay salaries of staff.

According to him, the situation was indeed dire as the financial books of the regulatory body was ‘red’.

“The thing is that we inherited red, it’s now that we’ve managed to make their books look good. That’s why you are seeing those newly bought speed boats and other activities going on. So in the past, it was bad, their books were red, they even struggled to pay salaries, that’s what we inherited. So we need to commend them for what they are doing and we believe that now that a contract has been awarded to start the construction of their Headquarters and the Western and Eastern offices at Takoradi and Tema respectively at least we can see some use of theses monies we’re talking about,” Hon. Titus Glover said while addressing the media at a soiree at Ada.

He made the comment after a journalist questioned what the Ghana Maritime Authority has to show, for all the huge monies they’ve made over the years.

Titus-Glover noted that the Ghana Maritime Authority has in the past two months been turned into a revenue-making organization.

Records show that the organization was making losses prior to 2017.

The situation turned around in 2017 after the immediate past Director-General, Kwame Owusu was appointed by President Akufo Addo.

In 2016, revenue was about some GH¢64 million and expenditure was about GH¢72 million.

But in 2017, the GMA made revenue of GH¢99 million and expended GHc66 million thereabout.