The World Bank Country Director to Ghana, Mr. Mats Karlsson has paid a day?s working inspection tour to the Tema Municipal area, recently.
The visit which enabled him to familiarize himself with the Bank?s activities in the area also provided a forum for him to interact with Municipal leaders. Places visited include the Ashiaman Sub Municipal Assembly, and the Ashiaman East and West electoral areas. He also inspected the Tema Municipal Assembly?s (TMA) current and proposed landfill sites as well as the Tema Harbour.
The Country Director who also has additional supervisory role over the Bank?s activities in Sierra Leone and Liberia and his team, inspected the premises of the Progressive Women?s Movement (PWM), and NGO based in Tema and the Ghana Free Zones Board of the Gateway project in the country.
At the Tema Harbour, Mr. Karlsson noted that Ghana?s economic potential could be greatly enhanced if the country vigoursly implements its Gateway policy. This project, he added, could boost the nation?s export potential and enable her to raise the needed funds for development projects.
The Gateway programmes aimed at promoting Ghana as a trading ? base and gateway to West Africa is being implemented by the Ghana Trade and Investment Gateway Project (GHATIG) in the development of a Free Zone endive the Ghana International Procurement Company (GIPC) as the agencies being funded to undertake targeted Trade and Investment Promotion.
Other agencies involved in the facilitation of trade of the project include the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) others are, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA).
The implementing agency of the project is receiving a 50 million dollar credit facility from the World Bank to enable in carry out the programme.
The World Bank Country Director was full of praise for the Co-operation between the implementation agencies and said their commitment to the project would determine its overall success or other wise.
The Chief Engineer of the Tema Harbour, Mr. Richard Anamro said the GPHA needs 21 million dollars to expand the dockyard to enable it to accommodate larger vessels.
He said, the GPHA is to relocate the containers and Cocoa Sheds areas to a new site termed the ?devanning zone? to decongest the harbour and encourage brisk business there.
At the Progressive Women?s Movement (PWM), the World Bank Country Director urged Ghanaian Women to acquire skills to enable them become economically independent.
He called for increased self-employment and entrepreneurial activity among women and called for a shift from the continued search for white colar jobs.
Mr. Karlsson pledged his support to activities aimed at ensuring gender equity and achieved the women to save and properly manage their business.
The last paint of call was on the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Samuel Ashong Narh.
Here, the Country Director noted that the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality much transcend all areas of the nation?s economy and not only in the tourism sector.
For his port, the MCE, Mr. Samuel Ashong Narh said, the municipality is making efforts to generate more income for self-help projects.
He expressed the hope that with time, municipality would become economically self-dependent.
He added that more attention is being placed on water supply and called for efforts by investors recycle water to cut costs.
