The
Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) in conjunction with the
International Maritime Organisation (IMO), today, concluded a successful
Conference of the Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) for
the Heads of Maritime Administrations.
The
Workshop was held in Abuja, Nigeria from 19th – 21st April 2017.
The
theme of the 3rdAAMA Conference was- Sustainable Use of Africa’s Oceans and
Seas.
The
representatives of the following member Administrations attended the
Conference:
Mauritania,
South Sudan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal,
Sierra Leone, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania,
Togo, Uganda, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Comoros, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Benin, DR
Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Kenya, Guinea, Libya
and Nigeria.
The
following countries and organizations attended the conference;
`Jamaica,
Netherlands, Malaysia, IMO, Abuja MOU, PMAWCA, SOAN, NPA, NSC, NITT, NIWA, ASA,
WIMA, FAO.
Opening
Ceremony:
The
opening ceremony included four major items:
- Welcome
speech by Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, the Director General of NIMASA
- Goodwill
messages by Representatives of International Maritime Organization (IMO),
Senate President and Speaker House of Representative, Nigeria.
- Keynote
address titled “Maritime Trade Facilitation and Economic Development in Africa”
- Declaration
of the conference open and unveiling of the new NIMASA brand by His Excellency,
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari
represented by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN, GCON.
Conduct
of Working Sessions
The
Working Sessions covering a period of 2 days were conducted under the
chairmanship of Mrs. Hadiza Bala Usman, Managing Director, Nigerian Ports
Authority for Day 1 and Barrister Hassan Bello, Executive Secretary of the
Nigerian Shippers’ Council for Day 2.
The
programme was made up of 5 (five) sessions and 14 (fourteen) speakers from
Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire, Togo, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, Mozambique,
Tanzania, Guinea Conakry, Liberia, Egypt, Mauritania, and Ghana. The main
topics were:
- Combating
the Menace of Piracy and Maritime Crimes in Africa.
- Role
of African Maritime Administration in Institutionalization of the Africa Day of
the Seas and Oceans.
- Training
of Cadets and building of human capacities.
- Regional
Initiatives for sustainable exploitation of maritime resources.
- Countries
initiative for effective implementation of international maritime instruments.
Decisions
and Resolutions
At
the conclusion of the Conference a number of key decisions were agreed upon.
Below are some of the key decisions, recommendations and resolutions:
1.
To achieve inclusive participation in global trade, countries must have the
political will to facilitate trade through:
• Transparency
• Simplicity
of trade documentation and procedures
• Elimination
or reduction of red-tapes (bureaucracy)
• Adequacy
of and implementation of applicable laws
2.
The IMO affirmed its readiness to support Maritime Administrations in Africa in
combating security challenges, and in building human capacity equipped to
implement, monitor and enforce international instruments.
3.
The IMO will support, when possible, regular meetings of Heads of Maritime
Administrations in Africa, at frequencies to be determined by the AAMA.
4.
His Excellency, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President
Muhammadu Buhari represented by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN,
GCON noted that Heads of State and Governments of the African Union have
resolved to make the maritime sector a major driver for economic development.
The Vice President affirmed that the Nigerian government recently approved a
new maritime architectural framework that will effectively make the waters of
Nigeria free from pirates and also improve international trade. In addition,
Government will also strengthen defense to protect and safeguard business.
5.
The African Union Commission has set aside 25thJuly of every year as Africa’s
Day of the Seas and Oceans. Maritime Administrations are encouraged to
institutionalize this day to raise awareness amongst stakeholders of the
strategic importance of maritime governance for sustainable development;
highlight the important role Africa needs to play at international maritime
forum; raise awareness on Africa’s “Blue Economy” and enhance the focus on
maritime safety, security, maritime environment protection and human element.
6.
Maritime Administrations are urged to devote concerted effort and planning to
pursue the following:
- Enhancement
of wealth creation, and regional and international trade performance through
maritime-centric capacity and capability building.
- Minimization
of environmental damage and expedited recovery from catastrophic events.
- Prevention
of hostile and criminal acts at sea, and coordination/harmonization of the
prosecution of offenders.
- Population
protection, including assets and critical infrastructure from maritime
pollution and prevention of dumping of toxic and nuclear waste.
- Improvement
of Integrated Coastal Zone/Area Management in Africa.
- Promotion
of ratification, domestication and implementation of international instruments.
7.
To address the enormous challenges of building human capacities in the maritime
sector especially regarding training and employment of cadets, maritime Administrations
should develop an integrated human resources strategy for the maritime sector
to support the provision of skills taking into account gender balance in the
entire maritime value chain which includes shipping and logistics, offshore
activities, fishing, tourism and recreation, and safety and security (AIMS
2050).
8.
Government should provide fiscal incentives to attract vessels to their
respective ship registry.
9.
Governments should adopt the Port State Measures Agreement and to consider
taking immediate actions to implement and enforce the measures.
10.
Strengthen the legal and governance framework for monitoring and control of
fishing activities on a national and regional basis.
11.
Governments must develop measures in addition to FAO guidelines to protect our
exclusive economic zone and territorial waters from illegal, unlawful
unreported fishing by foreign fishing trawlers.
12.
Members are encouraged to re-enforce regional cooperation and coordination,
enhance information sharing and regulatory governance among members to combat
the menace of piracy and other maritime crimes while maintaining a balance
between security and the facilitation of global trade.
13.
AAMA is urged to identify and carry out capacity building exercises for member
nations according to their needs.
14.
Maritime Administrations are encouraged to facilitate the ratification and
adoption of the African Maritime Transport Charter and the 2017 Lome
Charter.
15.
Recognizing the gender policies in the Maputo Protocol, Agenda 2063 and the
SDGs etc, AAMA is encouraged to facilitate the adoption by Maritime
Administrations of measures that will incorporate gender mainstreaming in the
short, medium and long term strategy of each Administration.
16.
AAMA has resolved to take the lead in the collaboration of maritime agencies
and the development of a well-defined national/continental strategy.
17.
All Maritime Administrations in Africa are encouraged to attend Africa Day of the
Seas and Oceans on 25th July 2017 at Addis Ababa.
18.
To foster economic co-operation between AAMA members, AAMA has agreed to
develop and adopt Near-Coastal Trading, Certification and Competency Code for
mutual recognition of certificates that will reduce/eliminate contentions by
Port State Control Inspectors.
19.
Member administrations are urged to deposit formal instruments with the
Secretary-General of the AAMA to complete their membership formalities.
20.
AAMA formally approved the Organisation of African Maritime Awards starting
from Egypt 2018 to recognize and honor outstanding Africans.
21.
NIMASA has been elected Chairman of AAMA with Eleven (11) members’ executive
committee comprising of representatives of Central Africa (Cameroun & Cape Verde),
West Africa (Cote D’Ivoire & Ghana), East Africa (Tanzania & Comoros),
Southern Africa (Mozambique and South Africa), North Africa (Egypt & Sudan)
and Uganda representing Land-locked countries.
Abuja,
April 2017
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