Pmawca newsletter 1st edition

HAPPY NEW YEAR! WELCOME TO THE 1ST EDITION OF THE PMAWCA NEWSLETTER

Established in 1972, the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa

(PMAWCA) is 44 years this year! For member ports and organizations, the journey has been

four decades of hard work, knowledge sharing, major changes in world trade, maritime

transport and port management systems. PMAWCA has also adapted to the changes and

continues to keep all members as one family, seeking the mutual interest of all.

At 44 years, the Secretariat of PMAWCA is excited to bring you this maiden edition of

Newsletter code-named “PMAWCA News”. In this era of information, communication and

technology (ICT) revolution, information rules the world, and PMAWCA News will serve as a

medium of reference to keep our members and public regularly informed about the works of

our Association, major developments in our member ports, and issues of interest from our

diverse portfolio of stakeholders.

The last five years mark one of the most outstanding times in the era of PMAWCA. During this

period, members of the Association shared knowledge took key decisions on port concessions

management, maritime piracy and armed robbery, as well as port costs and they shared

responsibility of diverse stakeholder. During this period, the Association, through the hard work

and professionalism of all the organs (Technical Committees, Board of Directors and Council),

also undertook key reforms that have improved the results achieved by its meetings and

promoted efficiency in the dealings of the Association at large.

Achievements of the reform agenda included the establishment of a self-help technical

assistance programme to assist members in need, set up of a projects support Reserve Fund,

with the voluntary contributions made in support of member countries worst affected by the

Ebola Virus Diseases, launching of the Harbour Masters Network, creation of a Directory of

Technical Experts for consultancy purposes; collaboration with key agencies to intensify

awareness on environmental protection and conservation to ensure ports contribute their

quota towards mitigating the effects of climate change; development of a functional website in

the three PMAWCA working languages (English, French and Portuguese); promotion of various

ongoing projects with regional and international organizations such as the World Bank, African

Development Bank, EU, IMO, and the ECOWAS to implement key projects of topical interest to

our ports and trade in general. Needless to recall that PMAWCA had demonstrated its support

towards women’s empowerment about a decade ago with the establishment of the PMAWCA

Women’s Network, which is working to build the capacity of women in the port and maritime

sector in our sub region.

E D I T O R I A L

PMAWCA for coming Events….

« Meeting of the Board of Directors in Conakry, Guinea, from the 02th to 04th Mai 2016 »…

The MSEPO, TSID and LO TC Meetings in Lomé, Togo - 1st – 5th

February 2016 / FES & ALA TCs Meetings – Tema, Ghana 8th -12th

March 2016

At a Glance

Photos from the Technical Committee Meeting in Lomé, Togo and Tema, Accra

N° 001 January – Feburary. - March .2016

In accordance with the Programme of Activities and the

statutory meetings of the Association, the Technical

Committees (TCs) « Maritime Safety, Environmental

Protection and Exploration (MSEPO) » »Technical

Studies and, Infrastructure and Development (TSID) »’

and the Liaison Officers (LO) » met during the 1st

trimester of the year, in Lomé, Togo from the 1st – 5th

February 2016. Also in the same light, the Finance and

Economic Studies committee (FES) and the Admin. and

Legal Affairs Committee (ALA) held their meeting in

Tema, Ghana from the 8th -12th of March 2016.

These meetings were hosted by the Port of Lomé (PAL)

and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA)

respectively. The meetings were quite successful and

enabled member ports to share different experiences

on themes under discussion and come up with

recommendations to make our ports more competitive

and our Association stronger. Details of the meetings

to follow in the next pages

Details of the meetings to follow in the next pages

At the continental level, PMAWCA spearheaded in 2000, the creation of the Pan African Association for Port

Cooperation (PAPC), which unites the three sub regional port associations namely the Port Management

Association of East and Southern Africa (PMAESA), Union of Port Administrations of Northern Africa (UAPNA) and

PMAWCA. Since its establishment, the PAPC has been organizing biannual conferences on subjects of relevant

interest for the benefit of the ports and maritime sector of the continent. PMAWCA took over the rotational position

of Executive Secretariat of the PAPC since November 2010.

Given the above, among our peers today, PMAWCA is an Association of reference! We are glad to note that in

the last 3 years, many new organizations joined our Association not only to learn from us but also to share their

unique expertise with us. This edition of PMAWCA News will therefore provide you with the following content:

(i) Brief on the outcome of the 37th Council held in Abidjan in 2015; (ii) 2016 programme of activities; (iii)

Brief on the outcome of the 2016 meetings held so far; (iv) Highlights of what to expect from our 38th

Council meeting in Dakar; (v) Brief on our new members who joined the Association from 2013 to date;

(vi) SG’s missions during the 1st quarter of 2016 (Consultative meeting with the President of PMAWCA –

approval of 2016 programme - 10th General Assembly of UASC; presentation of Goodwill Message); (vii) A

teaser on one hot topic for the port sector this year: the CTU Code; (viii) Tit bits on selected members.

To our members, we say: PMAWCA News is news by your Association for your consumption! We therefore invite

all to support this publication by contributing your ideas, views and inputs.

Welcome on board, and enjoy reading!

Editorial ---------------------------------1-

At a glance----------------------------- 1-

Secretariat’s Programme -------------2-

Recommendations of the Technical

Committees ---------------------2-

Summary of Presentations of the

Technical Committees ------------3-

Focus on Lomé Port and Port of Pointe

Noire -----------------4-

Summary…

1

In the spirit of unity between maritime and port sister

organisations on our continent, the Association was

represented by the Secretary General. The Secretary

General gave a message of support at the AGM of the

Ghana Shippers’ Council which was held in Accra, Ghana

from the 27th to 30 January 2016.

Secretariat Agenda: The Secretary General’s Working Meeting with the

PMAWCA President in Abidjan In a bid for the Secretary General to present

his Plan of Action and programme of

activities for the New Year 2016, a working

meeting was held with the President Mr. Hien

SIE at the premises of the Abidjan Port on

Friday 15th January 2016.

This was a beneficial meeting for the

Association as it helped to eliminate any

fears that may cause constraint to this plan.

On the left, the SG, M. Michael LUGUJE, on

the right the PESIDENT MD of PAA, M.

Hien SIE

PMAWCA’s Participation at the 10th AGM of the

Ghana Shipper’s Council in Accra, Ghana

Infos on the CTU code: This is the IMO/OIT/CEE-ONU code on best practices for loading of goods from cargo unites (CTU CODE, which will come into operations from the 1st of July 2016 and will be mandatory for all cargo leaving the ports and export. The application of this CTU code is a requirement that all loadings should conform to the real weight of the cargo before it is loaded for export on all vessels. The weight should be verified and certified by a competent national authority. Any loading that does not adhere to this condition will be systemically rejected and offloaded from the vessel. We implore all PMAWCA member port authorities to take all measures to comply with this provision and its effective date.

As planned, the technical committee meetings of MSEPO, TSID and LO were held

simultaneously on Monday 1st February 2016. It commenced with a colorful opening

ceremony and various welcome and thank you speeches from the SG of PMAWCA,

the DG of PAL and the representative of the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure.

These meetings went on for 5days with quality presentations by delegates from each

port on themes and recommendations proposed by the secretariats on their agenda.

Having gone through all the recommendations made by each committee to the

secretariat and their mother port to improve port management practices and

competitiveness. The following points were retained:

1. MSEPO : (i) recommends that the Secretary general ensures that the

group, which comprises of Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Ghana and Cape Verde

meet to harmonize proposals for submission, so that the committee can

validate and harmonize the statistics at the next meeting; (ii)

recommends that the committee sets up a platform to showcase

environmental issues, involving cities, public administration and

government agencies who are already involved in problems caused by

climatic change

2. TSID: (i) To encourage the General Secretariat of PMAWCA to accelerate

the research process of investment loans and partners in order to

enable the various Ports applicants to benefit of these facilities as

quickly as possible; (ii) To solve the problem of congestion in our ports,

it is recommended to: Adapt the port facilities to the needs of current

traffic; sensitize all port stakeholders on the negative impact of

congestion in the national economy of countries etc…

3. LOs : In light of the role and the mission assigned to the Liaison Officers

as interface between the General Secretary and ports, they recommend

to support the Secretariat in the elaboration and the execution of its

action plan and to efficiently play their role as interface.

Full reports in three languages (French- English - Portuguese) are available for

download on the PMAWCA website… www.agpaoc_pmawca.org

Recommendations to be retained from the meetings of the Technical

Committees SMPEE, ETID, and LO in Lomé - Togo

The ALA and FES Technical committees met in Tema to

discuss themes affecting the administrative and

financial management of Ports as well as that of the

Association. These sessions held for 5 days under

conducive atmosphere. These meetings ended with

words of encouragement and recommendations were

made to the Secretariat and member ports.

Regarding the FES TC, we can retain the following

recommendations which is majorly based on the

financial management of the Association and the

PMAWCA Training Centre: (i) regarding the future of

PTC. The Committee welcomes the suggestions of the

SG and took note of the proposals about the future of

the PTC. However, it suggests a fourth option in

addition to the three options proposed by the

Secretariat. It recommends to the Executive Committee

the appreciation of one of these four options in order

to make a strategic decision on the Centre. (ii) On the

review of the draft budget 2016 of the General

Secretariat. After analyzing this document, the

Committee recommends that the Executive Committee

approve the Secretariat General’s draft budget for

2016.

The ALA TC also worked on administrative matters

affecting the ports in line with the adopted agenda

with the sharing of experiences on a human resource

management theme (details are on the following page)

the following recommendations were made: (i)

Regarding the PTC: the Committee recommends that

the SG should promptly organize a meeting with the

authorities in charge from the port of Cotonou and

SOBEMAP so that they can find the way forward with

the management of the center and its staff. (ii)

Regarding the implementation of the CTU code, which

is expected to come into operations on the 1st of July

2016, the committee recommends that a sensitization

seminar be organized urgently.

Full reports in three languages (French- English -

Portuguese) are available for download on the PMAWCA

website... www.agpaoc_pmawca.org

Recommendations to be retained from

the meetings of the Technical

Committees FEE and AAJ in Tema -

Ghana

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TAKE NOTE: Implementation date for the CTU code is July 1st 2016

More info below and the entire code available for download on the site www.agpaoc_pmawca.org

Summary of presentations MSEPO / Theme « Environmental

management in PMAWCA Member Ports »

Being that the port community consist of natural, human, technical as well as

artificial resources, technologies and cultural factors, and they are all

connected.

Thereby, we note the existence of various sources of pollution particularly

the waste coming from ship operations (ballast water, oil and sewage), waste

from handling (clinker, bauxite....) waste from the city (plastic bags,

garbage...), electrical and electronic waste (computers, printers...) discharged

in aquatic environments. On cannot also ignore water hyacinth, shipwrecks.

From these presentations, some ports are more advanced in the

management of environmental issues than the others. They have a proper

legal framework on the management of the environment, defining a clear

policy on environmental management, having a plan for environmental

management, realizing audits, regular inspections on the environment,

recycling the product of solid waste and ballast water, measuring the quality

of air and water, having incinerators for waste, acquiring materials of cleanup

of water, holding awareness campaigns, setting up a charter of

environmental governance..

Some ports such as Abidjan, Dakar and San Pedro have obtained

International Certification in accordance with the ISO 14001 standard.

Other ports on the other hand, have no clear system of environmental

management. Port members still have many challenges as regards

management of the environment namely waste management, management

of dangerous goods, preservation of marine resources, pollution

management, the non-involvement in QSE certification process, the non-

quantitative assessment of health risks, the lack of monitoring and state of

environmental reference, the lack of a framework for consultation between

officials in charge of environmental issues.

Subsequent to the enlightening presentations, delegates made constructive

contributions which led to the following recommendations:

- Renew the theme of the environment with emphasis on social

responsibility.

- Renew police regulations and port operations by integrating the

environmental component.

- Establish a port consultation structure on environmental issues with the

involvement of cities and public administrations.

- Establish a structure for consultation with government agencies in charge

of problems caused by climate change

- Urge ports to have a database for the monitoring of the marine

environment.

- Urge member ports to exchange experiences on good practices in

environmental management.

- Encourage the Ports to undertake a study of coastal vulnerability, especially

in port areas, in relation with climate change.

Summary of presentations TSID / presentations on theme

« Problem of congestion in the modern management of

Ports »

Successively, the speakers shared the experience of their

respective ports, compared to the problem of congestion. Each

presentation was followed by a discussion allowing delegates to

capitalize the achievements for the benefit of their Port.

At the end of the different communications, it generally appears

that our ports have developed strategies to face inconveniences

due to congestion caused, among others, (i) the insufficiency or

unavailability of berthing infrastructures, (ii ) low capacity to

accommodate ships (insufficient depth of the port), (iii) the

insufficiency of parking for vehicles, the poor condition and the

smallness of the ways of transports, the inadequacy of storage of

the goods, (iv) abusive stay of empty containers on storage areas

of goods, (v) the frequent congestion at the level of the

weighbridges, and weighs axles, of the control of template and of

the control of ISPS, the dilapidated state of the means of transport,

insufficiency and the low performance of the handling equipment

etc...

Short, medium and long term solutions for our ports, facing the

problems above mentioned, are to:

A / in terms of Infrastructures

_ Create dry ports and their connection to the port by a railway

network

_ Relocate weighbridges, axles weigh, control templates and

control by scanner; increase the number if necessary;

_ Develop multimodal transport.

B / in terms of traffic management

_ Educate users against the productivity of abusive stay of trucks,

empty containers, in compliance with the established rules and

strengthen the sanctions;

_ Ensure respect of the functioning of the port in continuous

regime (24/24 and 7 days/7);

_ Ensure the speed of operations and the formalities of goods

outputs (implementation of one stop-shop);

We can in this sense retain the following recommendations:

1- To solve the problem of congestion in our ports, it is

recommended to:

i. Adapt port facilities as required of existing

traffic;

ii. Educate all port stakeholders on the negative

impact of congestion in the national economy of

countries.

iii. Develop multimodal transport in ports to thin

the port traffic.

iv. Create a port stop shop for countries which do

not yet have ;

v. Create dry ports and their connection to the port

by a railway network;

2- The implementation of the quality control in our ports

and constantly engage in it for the certification ISO 9001

version 2015.

3- Research of funding and partners to finance the

modernization of our ports.

The presentations and the full reports are available on the website www.agpaoc-pmawca.org / general publications

Summaries of presentations by the MSEPO and TSID technical committees in Lomé, from 1st to 5th February 2016

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New members of the PMAWCA

- Reactivation of adhesions of Port of Nouadhibou and

Port of Nouakchott ;

- Adhesion of 2 members for the associate members : (i)

Shipper’s Council of Nigeria end COBENAM of Benin ;

- Adhesion of 4 members for the observers members : (i)

Marine Data Solutions et Hypernica Ltd de l’AFRIQUE DU

SUD; (ii) Transport Event Management de la MALAISIE,

(iii) Groupe Afrique Performance du MAROC.

Summary of presentations of ALA Technical

Committee in Tema, from 08 - 12 March 2016

Theme: “Remuneration and retirement Policies- an evaluation

of salaries and social benefits structures in PMAWCA ports"

Overwhelmingly delegates shared various experiences with

their wages and retirement policies. The presentations and

discussions that followed were vibrant and enabled each

delegate to absorb the practices of other ports. The

objective is to derive added value and create proposals in

their respective organizations. However, despite the

restrictions noted with the retirement policies in member

ports, certain practices need to be highlighted to promote

and improve these policies.

Salary structure and bonuses granted

Generally, salaries are paid based on abiding laws, but the

introduction of bonuses and benefits allows room for

improvement in the conditions of port workers. Among these

are: (i) A flexible monthly bonus, known as productivity,

associated to the quality of work and the last assessment,

this productivity bonus, will be payable every six (6) months.

Being 15% of the exact annual salary based on individual

assessment, this will be labelled "performance allowance"

and related to the performance of the company; (ii)

contributions for pilgrimages, Mortgage Allowance (purchase

of land and its construction )

Benefit and retirement policy

(i)An incentive bonus in anticipation of retirement after 10

years of service in the port; (ii) establishment of a retirement

insurance at 50% rates, 75% paid by the employer; (iii) the

employee must be promoted (3) or twelve (12) months

preceding the date of retirement; (iv) The employee who

goes on retirement receives a special allowance called

severance package. The amount is the monthly salary

multiplied by 12 regardless of the position in the company.

The salary serving as the basis of calculation of this

allowance is the average gross salary in the last twelve

months preceding the retirement.

For that purpose, the following recommendation was made:

«Looking at the inadequacy of social cover for retirees in the

different member ports of the Association, the Committee

recommends the implementation of a loyalty bonus in

addition to the severance package in retirement and medical

assistance. »

Being one of the most attractive ports in Central Africa, the 19th century marked its colonisation by France, who then

managed the former Equatorial French territories which is divided into 4 republics namely (Congo, Gabon, Central African

Republic, Chad). They considered the necessity to have a link to the Congo River, through the river and the Loepoldville-

Matadi Railraod. The port commenced operations on the 1st of April 1939 having launched the project 5 years earlier with

the construction of the 200m deep sea quay. The day after this, the first ocean liner “the Focault” docked and was officially

unveiled in the presence of Governor General Joseph RESTE. Today, it is handled by Mr. Seraphin Bhalat. After several

restructuring of the harbour facilities, the port of Pointe Noire is currently equipped with an 84 hectors quay, which opens

on to the 180m wide open sea, extended by an access channel of 1200 m and dredged to -11, 50 m. Night Beaconing is ensured by a guiding light with the

range of 24 nautical miles; two lights (green and red) at the entrance; two lamps for entry; a green landing float at the end of the quay. PAPN has a towing

facility that can pull in vessels weighing 700 tonnes for maintenance, repairs and private and minimal naval repairs.

Some 2014 PAPN figures

Global Trafic : 8 593 925 Tonnes Import : 5 460 343 Tonnes ;

Export: 3 133 582 Tonnes ; Number of Vessels ; 4 228.

Source, PAPN Website

The history of the maritime and port industry of Togo is closely associated with the

colonial history of the Country. With the successive construction of Warf 1 in 1890,

Warf 2 in 1904 and Warf 3 in 1912 by the Germans, then the construction of the 4th

Warf by the French as a result of the invasion of the German colonies following the

1st world war. The Togolese authorities then decided to build a deep-water sea port

in 1959, because of the inability of the French wharf to cope with the increase in

traffic.

Headed by Rear Admiral ADEGNON Fogan, the Lomé Port was inaugurated on the

26th of April 1968, the 1st of May 1968 is recognised as its official date of operations.

The extension of the facilities between 1974 and 1980 became a recent necessity

given the growth of port activities and annual traffic which crossed 252.600 tonnes

in 1968 to 402.600 tonnes in 1972.

New infrastructure were also put in place: with more than 1752 quay metres (2

moles, an anchorage, a quay carrier and a fishing harbour) allowing the quays to

accommodate between 8 and 10 ships all at once. The quays are protected by two

channels of 1720 and 950 metres which delimits an 81 hectare basin and protect the

Lomé port from disintegrating. With 15 metres deep, the port of Lomé remains the

deepest harbour on the west coast of Africa and can handle massive vessel with big

tonnage thereby guaranteeing its position as the vibrant transhipment port for the

sub-region. Source, Lomé Port Website

Traffic Statistics for 2014

Global Traffic 9 280 004 tonnes

Importation 6 616 764 tonnes

Exportation de 959 814 tonnes

Transbordement 1 703 426 tonnes

Number of Vessels 1 119 Vessels

Calendar of the Association's activities

- TEM, Conference on the Multimodal Transport in Accra on April

7th and 8th, 2016.

- Meeting of the Board Director (BD) to Conakry, Guinea, 2 to 4

Mai 2016.

- 38th Annual Council PMAWCA Coupled with the 11th Conference

of the APCP, Dakar from 18th to 22th July 2016.

Managing Director

Focus on the Port of Lomé, P.A.L. The passion for Efficiency…

Focus on the Port of Pointe Noire (PAPN), In the Heart of Africa, the Port of the Future

Director of Publication : M. Michaël LUGUJE Management and Coordination : M. Esaïe Afri KOUASSI

Redaction & Conception : M. Esaïe Afri, M. Péré Samié, M. Tahirou Adenlé, Mme Noah Abiodun Website Link : www.agpaoc-pmawca.org

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Managing Director