By Ignatius Ushie
As part of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA) Secretary General’s ongoing activities to see to efficient working and service delivery, the Secretary General, HE Dr. Paul Adalikwu recently received a 4-man Delegation from the Chairman/Minister of Transport of Ghana, His Excellency Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah in his office.
On the delegation were Nana Boakye, Director from Ghana Maritime Authority, Yaw Antwi, Deputy Director General GMA and Theresa K.F, Deputy Director Ministry of Transport, Ghana.
In his remarks, Adalikwu welcomed the Chairman and his team and expressed his pleasure to have them at the MOWCA Secretariat being the first official visit of the Chairman to MOWCA since he assumed office at its Secretariat in Abidjan.
He called for collaboration among member countries for a better organization noting that the organisation will function better if all hands were on deck.
According to him, the reason for the visit was to among other things, engage with the Secretary of State for Maritime Affairs in Côte D’Ivoire and to interact with the staff at the MOWCA secretariat.
Earlier, he congratulated the Secretary General, H.E Dr. Paul Adalikwu for emerging the winner at the concluded election in Ghana. He told the Staff that the main reason for visiting MOWCA Secretariat was to officially introduce the SG to them, which he should have done earlier but due to his official exigencies he could not make it down as earlier promised. He called on the staff to work together for the success of the regional organisation.
According to him, “I urge the staff to offer allegiance to the Organization and not to an individual” given that they had worked with the last SG for over 10 years, adding that the Secretary General should not victimize Staff in the Secretariat as he would need their experiences garnered over the years and institutional memory which will help in his day to day running of the activities in the Organization.
He however, advised the S-G to put in place a system of procedure that will enable all Staff contribute their quota to the growth of the New MOWCA.
The Secretary General on his own part, briefed the Chairman on activities carried out so far since he assumed office as follows: Putting together a new Organogram and schedule of duties of all staff; Engagement with national Authorities of Host Country especially Secretary of State, Maritime Affairs; and Presentation of action plans and Strategic Visions;
He informed the Chairman of his working visit to Honourable Minister of Transport, Works & Infrastructure, The Gambia; and also updated on future visit to Cameroon amongst others.
The SG thanked the Team and urged the Chairman to key into the Charter of the Regional Maritime Development Bank to enable Ghana be part of the launching of the bank and also benefit from several opportunities available to members and to also pay up their dues to enable a smooth running of the Organization.
It would be recalled that Adalikwu was elected the Secretary-General of The Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa (MOWCA) in an election in Ghana in November 2021, and assumed office fully at its Secretariat in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire in January 2022.
