The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has indicated that the Director of Port of Keta, Dr Alexander Yaw Adusei, Jr. has successfully overseen all activities leading to the planning, construction, and establishment of a Port within the Keta Municipality of the Volta Region.
According to the Authority, Dr Alexander Yaw Adusei, Jr. is also working to fulfil the agenda of the government, GPHA’s own Port Master Plan and the Nation’s overall Development Strategic Plan.
In a Press Statement signed and issued by Esther Gyebi-Donkor (Mrs)
General Manager, Marketing & Corp. Affairs of GPHA, she averred that Dr Alexander Yaw Adusei, Jr. was appointed as the project lead to liaise with the requisite teams to facilitate the background activities toward implementation of the Keta project.
She was responding to some comments by individuals particularly on social media on the role of the Director of Port of Keta, Dr Alexander Yaw Adusei, Jr., and the status of the Keta Port.
According to her, since he was appointed as Director of the Port of Keta, Dr Adusei has successfully led the GPHA team to negotiate and select a consultant to commence the feasibility study of the Keta Port which was signed on Monday, 15th June 2020 and field feasibility has already taken off.
“An inception report has been submitted and discussed and GPHA is expecting a final report from the consultants in a couple of months. Technically, the Keta Port Director has been leading negotiations and supervising preliminary engineering activities to ensure that a Port is built and established at Keta,” she noted.
Esther Gyebi-Donkor also pointed out that the project which is a key agenda item of the incumbent government is also a much-desired dream expressed by the people of Keta.
She said: “In this regard the President of the Republic signed the Executive Instrument (El) in October, 2018, declaring the location in Keta as the “Port of Keta” which is under the management of GPHA. A national strategic project of this magnitude requires Preliminary activities before physical construction. This includes conceptualization, needs and viability assessment, stakeholder engagements, cost-benefit analysis, among others, which usually spans a very long period.”
She also mentioned that such activities are best led by astute professionals with requisite legal skills and knowledge in contract negotiation, International Law and project management, and that the immeasurable need for effective negotiations when it comes to Port Infrastructure development and concessions requires experienced negotiators with solid legal background to ensure value for money at all stages of the developmental process and such expertise could not fall under any less capacity below the level of Directorship within the Port Authority.
To this effect, Dr Adusei, she said has constantly engaged the community as an official liaison between GPHA and the People and Chiefs of Keta in ensuring effective community involvement and acceptance of the impending Port project.
She averred that the appointment of a Coordinating Director is an acceptable practice in both the Public and Civil Services, hence one does not necessarily have to be appointed into an existing directorship position especially when justifications have been made, requiring a person of senior managerial status with unique expertise to coordinate activities on behalf of an Institution.
GPHA according to her, is focused and resolved to continue to follow the international best practices towards the establishment of the Port of Keta.
BY PROSPER AGBENYEGA
