Ghana needs long term maritime policies – Dr. Kofi Mbia

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Shipping, Dr. Emmanuel Kofi Mbiah has urged Ghana to adopt long term structures that would harness the full potential of Ghana’s maritime industry.

It is estimated that over 90 percent of the total world’s trade is carried by sea and it’s the most effective way of transporting goods and raw materials from one country to the other.

The shipping industry is undoubtedly the driving force of many economies, making it imperative for government and institutions alike to formulate policies that would position the maritime industry aims at deriving more revenues for economic development.

Dr. Mbiah explained that for a successful and sustainable industry, there is a need for a comprehensive framework that would ensure a seamless network and efficiency among all institutions and organs of trade and transport industry to be created, instead of policies that are reactions to short term challenges.

According to him, the maritime industry is a lucrative sector and thus, prioritizing and creating an enabling environment for the industry to thrive would inure to the country’s benefit.

“We might not have money to deal with everything, but when we give much attention to the marine sector, it will have a trickledown effect that would consequently touch upon the other areas,” he said.

Dr. Mbiah added that when government makes the initiative to create an enabling environment, Ghana’s maritime landscape would look opportune for private companies to invest in aiming at generating revenue from the sector for developmental purposes.

He urged government to follow the blueprints of some developed nations who have transformed their economies at the back of an efficient port industry by allocating resources to the sector, further suggesting, a revitalized rail sector is inevitable for a successful maritime trade.

He stressed that the future for Ghana’s maritime fortunes is dependent on the success of the export sector, saying, it would generate revenue for the state for development, and cut the cost of doing business drastically.