The Deputy Minister of Transport, Joyce Mogtari Bawa has stated that the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has the financial muscle and human expertise to revive the ailing Tema shipyard.

Cabinet directed the transfer of the Tema shipyard from its former management to the Port Authority following agitations by workers of the shipyard who accused the management of incompetence.

Speaking on Eye On Port, a flagship programme on Metro Tv and GTV, Joyce Bawa said with the right management like GPHA, the Tema shipyard which is a strategic establishment in the country will have the potential to greatly grow the economic fortunes of Ghana.

“GPHA is expected to revive the Tema shipyard to create jobs and generate revenue for the state. It is one of the few servicing points for vessels across the West coast and its relevance and job creation cannot be underestimated, hence, government’s ambition to revive it,” she said.

According to the Deputy Transport Minister, the Tema shipyard has had a checkered history over the last few years due to insufficient funds and the absence of a strategic partner.

“Government’s policy at the time was to engage a strategic investor to help us to at least revamp the Tema shipyard but somehow the evaluation process failed to ensure that kind of strategic investment we were looking for,” she noted adding that “to create avenues for investments, someone must be able to manage workforce and investments.”

“It was for this reason the Ministry submitted a memo to cabinet to provide some options with regards to finding a strategic investor. We recommended that GPHA which has had a long partnership with the shipyard had to step in to help stabilize things considering the resources that are at their disposal.

“They have experience regards to the management of a shipyard because they are currently managing a shipyard in Takoradi and we are hopeful they will be able to find the sort of resources needed to revamp the facility,” she said stressing that “this is a whole shipyard, it comes with a huge staff strength and we hope that GPHA can bring its experience and financial muscle to reshape the Tema Shipyard.”

The shipyard, according to Joyce Bawa has the capacity to recruit twice the number that it has presently and train younger people to take up from the rather aging staff.

“So we actually envisaged that not only the economic benefit but its social impact on society as well is what we are looking at. It is the reason government hopes to achieve this modicum of stability to put in place better management structures to ensure that we are able to attract the investment,” she observed.

The Deputy Transport Minister was optimistic that if the shipyard is revamped it will service vessels all the way from South Africa and several others within the sub region.

She lamented that due to lack of resources to fully acquire equipment to deal with the work that is available at the shipyard, most vessels are pulling out to use it as a maintenance place “so if we are able to establish this stability to get this new management in place and the get the sort of opportunities that will come with this new relationship with GPHA I am sure we will be able to put this ship yard back on its feet.”

With regards to support GPHA will get from government, she said “GPHA on its own has been able to attract the largest investment for its port expansion plan so I see no reason why they can’t do likewise for the shipyard.
Under the able management of GPHA, Joyce Mugtari Bawa said looks forward to the shipyard taking its place once more and becoming that strategic investment option that government is looking for.

“I look forward to it creating the sort of jobs that we require, the training opportunities that will be available to people who are willing to go into that industry and of course I even look forward to further expansion to its current facilities and of course total revamping of the place by way of additional equipment and of course tools which the workers can work to attract the sort of investment to keep it afloat,” she averred.