By: Kobina Baidoo
Former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, Dr. Emmanuel Kofi Mbiah has said that Ghana has not properly utilized the potential of the ocean and the blue economy.
Dr. Mbiah making his remarks as the keynote speaker for the 2024 edition of the Shipping Conference Series revealed that many sectors remain uncovered by the government of Ghana as potential areas to utilize the ocean and expand the blue economy.
While speaking he noted that Ghana needs to go beyond the primary benefits of the blue economy and delve deeper into other potential profit-making areas of the maritime industry.
He lamented the satisfaction of the government over minimal achievements made in the blue economy such as fishery, imports and exports and offshore energy generation. He touted sectors like Entertainment and Leisure, Engineering, Vessel Construction and Docks as sectors which remain majorly unexplored by the government. “We look at the logistics; what can we do with the ports of Tema, what can we do with the ports of Takoradi as far as ports are concerned. Coastal Services – what are the few things we can do and then we are done; that is what the ocean can offer for us. We look at fisheries and then aqua culture, marine culture and then our cold storage and then we are done. We can get oil and gas and then hydro carbon and renewable offshore energy.” he intimated.
The marine expert called for an expansion of the maritime industry into other sectors beyond the primary benefits of the industry. “When we talk about a blue economy we don’t limit ourselves only to the fact that we can catch fish from the sea. We need to think deeper; because the sea is there but can we build a boat? Can we build an outboard motor?. Other than that, we limit ourselves to only the fish we can catch from the sea.”
