Preparation of Regulations and Organizational Development Plan for Ghana Maritime Authority

Challenge

The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) is in charge of monitoring, regulating and coordinating activities of Ghana's maritime industry. By law GMA is also the regulatory body for inland waterway transportation, but there were only a few standards or regulations governing the boats, operators, routes, navigation and operating conditions under its regulatory remit. The Ministry of Transport concerned with improving the short- and long-term quality of inland water transport formulated a strategic approach to overcome this situation and commissioned HPC to prepare regulations and an organizational development plan for GMA so that it can fulfil its regulatory mandate for inland waterway transportation in Ghana.

Tasks Performed

• Review of international standards and regulations for inland waterway transportation and assessment of their suitability for adoption in Ghana
• Elaboration of an overall regulatory framework proposing the institutional arrangements needed by GMA to fulfil its inland waterways regulatory mandate
• Review of GMA's current organizational structure and elaboration of a proposal for an outline structure that allows GMA to fulfil its inland waterways regulatory mandate
• Development of rules and regulations affecting the inland waterway transportation in Ghana
• Elaboration of an organizational development plan to enable GMA to fulfil its mandate and functions for the development and regulation of inland waterway transportation, including job description, budget and training requirements
• Bathymetric surveys in order to recommend areas on the Volta Lake where tree stumps, hazarding navigation of boats on the lake are considered for removal and where navigational aids shall be provided
• Preparation of business cases for the removal of tree stumps, provision of navigational aids and charting of the whole lake

Benefit

Strategic realignment of the national maritime authority including a new legal basis according to highest international standards, an efficient organisational structure and a balanced budget with reasonable and projectable revenues, investments and costs.