Skip to main content

Nana Addo meets Tema Port workers on agitations over MPS deal

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
President Akufo-Addo is meeting workers of the Tema Port over recent agitation on the Meridian Port Services agreement.
The TUC and the Ghana Maritime and Dock Workers Union in recent times have expressed concerns about the deal which they believe will lead to job losses.

President Nana Akufo-Addo, in his initial remarks, expressed his surprise at the TUC and the Dock Workers union for seemingly escalating on-going engagements the union had with the Transport Ministry.

President Nana Akufo-Addo was also of the view that the deal involves an important foreign investor hence the need for circumspection in how the workers’ issues are addressed.


He added today’s meeting will help address their concerns.

Some of the meetings are expected to be held behind closed doors.


“Indeed the Minister of Transport has engaged with you on several occasions at my behest but the way the matter was being escalated in the public space especially by myself I thought it was only right that you engage with me directly and that is why I extended this invitation to you, brass stacks, we are dealing with an important foreign investor in our country.” The President said.


Protests by dock workers were rife earlier this year over impending job losses as a result of the port expansion project, with the Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority, GPHA, Michael Luguje, recently confirming that about 1,200 employees of Inland Container Depots (ICDs) would be laid off after the operationalization of the Meridian Port Services (MPS) project later this year, 2019.


However, managers of the Tema Port Expansion Project, Meridian Ports Services (MPS), last week downplayed suggestions that the project will lead to massive job losses.


The managers said when the project is fully completed; it will rather boost the country’s economy through the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.


According to the Chief Executive Officer of MPS, Mohammed Samara claims that the MPS project will lead to job losses is flawed because GPHA is a thirty percent shareholder of the new port.

He also added that phase one of the project is to be completed in June this year for operations to begin.


“We’re progressing, and we’re gearing up to open by the beginning of July this year. The goal life date is the 28th of June, and we’re working on that target. We will start with two berths not four. 


Then the third one will come hopefully at the first quarter of next year, which is scheduled to be middle of next year, and the fourth one will come in the year 2022, but we are likely to push it to be ready in the year 2020. 

This isn’t a threat to GPHA in any shape or form because GPHA is a 30% shareholder in this company, so basically it cannot be a threat to them; it’s not a threat to the shareholders.”
  

Source: citinewsroom.com

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Invest your profits back into farming - COCOBOD boss to Cocoa Farmers

Joseph Boahen Aidoo is Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, has charged cocoa farmers to be business minded in operating their farms and to partake fully in the various programmes introduced by COCOBOD to ensure good farm yields and to increase profits. "Good farming practices, like pruning, the timely application of fertilizers and proper pests control are essential at all times," he said. Joseph Boahen Aidoo stated this while interacting with farmers in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions, on the first day of his week-long tour of cocoa farms across the county. He was accompanied by the Deputy Chief Executive of Operations at COCOBOD, Dr Emmanuel Opoku, as well, as Directors and Research Scientists from COCOBOD. The tour is aimed at assessing the level of farmer participation in the various farm productivity improvement programmes implemented by COCOBOD; it is also...

Smoke ‘wee’ as much as you want – Muramura Chief to youth

The town is also known for growing of ‘wee’ on a large scale The Chief of Muramura in the Kwahu South District, Nana Gyaakye Amo II, says residents of his town especially the youth are free to smoke marijuana (wee) as much as they want. According to the 83-year-old chief, he’s powerless to deal with the menace and once the youth will not come to smoke the banned substance in his house he cares less and is minding his own business. Nana Gyaakye Amo II, made the shocking comments in an interview with Kasapa News on the back of the unfortunate incident in his town where angry residents on Sunday lynched and set fire into the body of a 29-year-old known ‘wee’ smoker Kofi Sammy for killing a 28-year-old pregnant Woman Alimatu Karim and cooking parts of her mutilated body for food. The town is known for growing of ‘wee’ on a large scale with most of the youth puffing the banned substance at will. When Kasapa News presenter Bonohene Baffuor Awuah asked Nana Gyaakye...

Stop running commentary on our investigations - A-G warns EOCO

Attorney-General, Gloria Akuffo Ms Gloria Afua Akuffo, the Attorney-General has asked the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to open itself to the public but to avoid running commentary on its investigations. According to her speaking in public about their investigations could only frustrates their efforts as well as give out too much information to criminals to change their mode of operations. “Criminals are always waiting to cover their tracks and therefore coming out to speak constantly about a matter, makes it easier for them to cover up and therefore frustrating the outcome of the investigations,” she stressed. She advised that the statutory body should avoid following rumours and suspicions so as not to not embarrass themselves. Ms Akuffo said this at EOCO’s maiden national stakeholders’ forum in Accra aimed at interacting with stakeholders and share information on cases investigated, prosecutions and convictions obtained as well as recoveries and confiscations made. ...