The Vice President at the opening of the conference
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has reiterated the urgent need for African countries to pull resources together to stem the growing incidence of piracy and kidnapping.
It follows the findings of a report from the Center of Maritime Law and Security Africa (CEMLAWS) which indicates that kidnapping for ransom has developed into an ‘Improved Business Module’ which attracts criminal groups to shift from theft and robberies.
Addressing the opening ceremony of this year’s International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (IMDEC) under the theme, “Maritime Security and Trade: The Nexus between a Secure Maritime Domain and a Developed Blue Economy,” in Accra yesterday, the Vice President said “I am informed that the network, which sustains this module of piracy, is larger than the traditional case of piracy of cargo stealing.”
He said “this network now involves negotiators, intermediaries, facilitators and racketeers as well as individuals acting in official or professional capacities such as insurance and risk analysts, professional negotiators and security companies.”
He, therefore, charged Service Chiefs attending the conference to “work together to dismantle the networks that sustain this business model and penetrate the levels of secrecy surrounding negotiations, payments as well as the true identity of the criminal actors.”
Without this effort, the Vice President said “we cannot secure the maritime domain in our quest to fully develop the blue economy.”
The maritime sector is the pillar of Ghana’s economy as the ports serve as the gateway for over 80 per cent of international trade, and the Vice President said “the offshore oil and gas sector with its associated industries contribute significantly to the nation’s GDP.”
Dr. Bawumia said “protecting the maritime domain of Ghana is therefore a fundamental agenda for the country and rightly so for all countries in the Gulf of Guinea, for the 39 other coastal African states, and indeed the rest of the world,” adding “ensuring a secure maritime domain for the blue economy to thrive is of utmost priority and a matter of urgency.”
“For a start, the government is acquiring Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), Fast Patrol Boats and Crafts. In addition, the government is making funds available for the timely completion of the Forward Operating Base at Ezinlibo and there are plans to establish similar bases on our coastal frontiers,” he emphasised.
He said the Ghana Maritime Authority, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Fisheries Sector, the various institutions in the oil and gas sector and the entire maritime industry, are being supported and encouraged for their own transformation.
In a related development, the government is set to endorse a comprehensive National Integrated Maritime Strategy that will enhance interagency cooperation and thereby boost the collaboration among Land, Sea and Air Forces and key stakeholders in the country.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent