Ministry of Ports, Harbours & Railways

Introduction
The Ministry of Ports, Harbours and Railways is the brain-child of His Excellency the President’s vision of ensuring that transport plays a vital and crucial role in the socio-economic development of the Nation. Additionally, it is to facilitate and harness the immense potential that the Ports and Rail offer in the development of its services to the land-locked countries. The new Ministry is therefore carved out of the erstwhile Ministry of Roads and Transport.

Section 11,12 and 13 of the Civil Service Law, PNDC Law 327, contain provisions in relation to the creation, organizational structure and functions of Ministries.

2.0 VISION
In pursuance of the overall national objective of raising national income with consequent improvement in per capital income to US$ 1000 by 2012, the Ministry of Ports, Harbours and Railway is to provide unhindered, barrier free access to Ghana from its frontiers as well as facilitate and ensure easy access to all parts of the country thereby providing congenial environment for socio-economic activity.

3.0 MISSION STATEMENT
The Ministry of Ports, Harbours and Railway is to ensure the provision of multi-modal, integrated, sustainable and environmentally responsible infrastructure and services that respond to national, expanding global market needs and international standard through:

The initiation, formulation, implementation and monitoring of polices that are responsible to both existing and changing needs of the nation and the global market.

• Promoting partnership with the Private Sector.
• Promoting strategic investment in the sector
• streamlining unnecessary or inefficient regulatory requirements and procedures that affect the flow of transportation goods and services.
• promotion of International transport in a multi-model manner.
• Developing, implementing. monitoring and regulating standards.

In order to establish accessible, affordable, reliable, efficient, safe, secured and environmentally friendly services for the movement of goods and persons. In doing this the Ministry of Ports, Harbours and Railways having regard to the fact that, transportation move the nation’s and world’s economy, would recruit and retain skilled transportation workforce.

4.0 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
The reference and working document for the purposes of initiating, development and implementation of strategic planning for the good governance of Ghana is the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), The Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy aims amongst other things at the achievement of equitable economic growth and accelerated poverty reduction within a sustained democracy.

In pursuance of the broad and specific objectives of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Ministry of Ports, Harbours and Railways is under obligation to craft out its corporate strategy in due consonance with the objectives of the GPRS.

Closely affiliated with obligation to develop the strategy within the context of GPRS is the development of the Ministry’s budget in consonance and within the framework of its 3 year rolling Medium Term Expenditure Framework while direction its attention to the attainments of sectoral and national goals.

OBJECTIVES
• To transform the Ports, Harbours and Railways into a state of the art to enable them meet the growing demands in rail, maritime and inland transportation.

• To facilitate the utilization of the infrastructure and facilitates of Maritime and rail in the achievement of the policy of poverty reduction.

• To promote and facilitate commerce and industry in the sub-region through the utilization of facilities within the inland and Maritime Ports and Rail.

• To promote and facilitate the integration of the various modes of transport to ensure the realization and actualization of Intermodalism.

5.0 FUNCTIONS OF THE MINISTRY
• To initiate, formulate, develop, implement and monitor polices towards the delivery of efficient, reliable and safe maritime, inland and rail services.

• To initiate, formulate, develop, implement and monitor polices for the realization and actualization of cost-effective, and safe inter-model transportation of freight.

• To provide the necessary regulatory framework and standards for the operation and activities of the modes under the Ministry.

• To formulate and implement polices towards promoting international transportation within the sub-region.

• To formulate policies for the realization and actualization of use of rail for mass transportation.

• To formulate polices to ensure that all transportation undertakings are done within the framework of environmental impacts and implications.

• To initiate polices towards the integration of and interchange between bus and rail for the purpose of ensuring a reliable, accessible, safe, secured comfortable and efficient mass transportation system.

• To initiate polices to ensure access and needs of the disadvantaged particularly physically changed persons in the use of rail.

• to ensure that policies are pursed towards efficient use of energy in the movement of persons and goods.

ORGANISATIONS UNDER THE NEW MINISTRY

The Ministry of Ports, Harbours and Railways has oversight responsibility over the shipping and Navigation Division of the Ministry as well as the following corporate entities:-

• Boankra Inland Port (under construction): intermodel terminal at Boankra (near Kumasi) to facilitate import and export trade, especially for the hinterland countries of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.

• Ghana Railway Company Ltd. (to be concessioned):Ghana’s national rail service provider.

• Ghana Shippers’ Council: established to manage the demands side of shipping.

• The Regional Maritime Academy: a branch of the World seafarers in the sub-region.

• Volta Lake Transport: provides ferry transport services on the Volta Lake.

• Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority: manages the ports of Tema and Takoradi, as well as the fishing harbours.

• PSC Tema Shipyard & Dry-Dock Co. Ltd: provides dry-dock services and ship repairs.

• Ghana Railway Development Authority (to be formed): a multipurpose regulatory body that will regulate rail transport; be responsible for the post.

AN ESTABLISHMENT OF INLAND PORT AT BOANKRA

It is Government’s desire to establish an inland port at boankra near Kumasi on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis. The main operators at the moment are the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and the Ghana Shippers’ Council.

The ministry is co-ordinating the activities of interested parties at the moment. The inland port would involve an in-land Port Estate and in-land Container Deport as an integral part of the long-term development of the ports of Tema and Takoradi.

As part of the programme 100 Container Flats (container carrying wagons) and associated handing equipment is to be procured to enable Ghana Rail move containers up country.

The Shippers’ Council has commenced the construction of an Administration Block Complex for the inland Port at a cost of $3.1 million which would hopefully be completed in 24 months.

The Objectives of Boankra Inland Port

i. To ease congestion at the ports of Takoradi and Tema.
ii. Create job opportunities for unemployed youth living in and around Boankra.
iii. Reduce aggregate transport cost of international cargo to importers and exports from the middle, and northern parts of Ghana.
iv. Facilitate the increased use of the Ghana Corridor by the hinterland countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
v. Promote the establishment of export zones in the vicinity of the inland Port.
vi. Facilitate an increase in the exportation of produce such as cola nut, shea butter, wood, wood products etc.
vii. Encourage industrialization and export processing activities through linkage with the airport and free zones.

REGIONAL MARITIME ACADEMY

The Regional Maritime Academy is the Ministry’s training institution for maritime workers not only in Ghana but the sub-region. The Regional Maritime Academy educates and trains ship deck, engine and communication officer cadets preparing them for sea faring careers on foreign-going vessels, deck and engine offers for fishing and other vessels, and prepare officers for employment in home trade shipping and inland water transportation.

Over the years, the Regional Maritime Academy has maintained a culture of excellence and cutting-edge professionalism in the field of Maritime education and training. Though most of its member nations, notably from the Republic of Cameroon, Liberia, the Gambia, Ghana and Sierra-Leone, are not running their national shipping lines, the training programmes offered by Academy have been most beneficial in providing their national with skills and knowledge allowing for their employment both locally and internationally.

VOLTA LAKE TRANSPORT COMPANY LTD. (VLTC)

The Volta lake Transport was established in 1970 as a subsidiary of the Volta River Authority to undertake commercial transport activities and operate lake ferry services on the Volta Lake and its tributaries to facilitate cargo and passenger movement between the northern sector and the south-eastern sector of Ghana, its management is now under the Ministry of Ports, harbours and Railways because of its peculiar role in the transport industry.

MAIN AREAS OF OPERATION

The Company’s main areas of operations include:

I. Transport of General Cargo: This involves the transportation of general
Cargo and passengers between Akosombo in the Eastern Region and Bulpe in the Northern Region. Its cargo includes; cement, cotton lint, sheanuts, cotton seed and construction equipment and materials. Four vessels are used for this type of service, each with a capacity of 730 tonnes. The vessels are MV Volta Queen and three dry cargo flat-top barges.

II. Petroleum Transport: The Company undertakes about six voyages in thirty
(30) days and transport a total of about 100,000 cubic metres of Petroleum products annually to the Northern sector of the country.

III. Tramping Service: This is a combined passenger and cargo vessel with the
capacity to carry 300 passengers and 300 tonnes of general cargo. It plies between Kete-Krachi and Yeji with stops at a number of make shift along the Volta Lake.

IV. Cross ferry Operations: The Company operates Cross Ferry Services at locations
along the lake and these service points serve as bridges when the lake cuts across the national road network at Yeji, Makango, Kete-Krachi and Adawso

GHANA RAILWAY COMPANY LTD

The Ghana Railway Company Limited is the national rail service provider. It is a state-owned organization with a mission to provide safe, comfortable and reliable transport services at economic rates.

In addition to the on-going Concessioning Programme, Railway expansion scheme, the Petroleum Railway initiative involves the railing of petroleum products from Tema to Kumasi and to the North, Western and Brong Ahafo regions.

GHANA PORTS & HARBOURS AUTHORITY (GPHA)

The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority is the national organization which manages the ports of Tema and Takoradi, as well as the fishing harbours. It is presently undergoing re-structuring exercise which will progressively transform it into the Maritime hub, the most efficient one stop port services centre in the West African sub-region. After the restructuring exercise the GPHA will act as the regulator of port activities instead of its present role as an operator. The plan is to systematically develop the ports of Tema and Takoradi to become the preferred transshipment and transit platforms for the sub-region which will give expression to the country’s Gateway programme.

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