1. HAPPY NEW YEAR! WELCOME TO THE 1ST
EDITION OF THE PMAWCA NEWSLETTER
Established in 1972, the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa
(PMAWCA) is 44 years this year! For member ports and organizations, the journey has been
four decades of hard work, knowledge sharing, major changes in world trade, maritime
transport and port management systems. PMAWCA has also adapted to the changes and
continues to keep all members as one family, seeking the mutual interest of all.
At 44 years, the Secretariat of PMAWCA is excited to bring you this maiden edition of
Newsletter code-named “PMAWCA News”. In this era of information, communication and
technology (ICT) revolution, information rules the world, and PMAWCA News will serve as a
medium of reference to keep our members and public regularly informed about the works of
our Association, major developments in our member ports, and issues of interest from our
diverse portfolio of stakeholders.
The last five years mark one of the most outstanding times in the era of PMAWCA. During this
period, members of the Association shared knowledge took key decisions on port concessions
management, maritime piracy and armed robbery, as well as port costs and they shared
responsibility of diverse stakeholder. During this period, the Association, through the hard work
and professionalism of all the organs (Technical Committees, Board of Directors and Council),
also undertook key reforms that have improved the results achieved by its meetings and
promoted efficiency in the dealings of the Association at large.
Achievements of the reform agenda included the establishment of a self-help technical
assistance programme to assist members in need, set up of a projects support Reserve Fund,
with the voluntary contributions made in support of member countries worst affected by the
Ebola Virus Diseases, launching of the Harbour Masters Network, creation of a Directory of
Technical Experts for consultancy purposes; collaboration with key agencies to intensify
awareness on environmental protection and conservation to ensure ports contribute their
quota towards mitigating the effects of climate change; development of a functional website in
the three PMAWCA working languages (English, French and Portuguese); promotion of various
ongoing projects with regional and international organizations such as the World Bank, African
Development Bank, EU, IMO, and the ECOWAS to implement key projects of topical interest to
our ports and trade in general. Needless to recall that PMAWCA had demonstrated its support
towards women’s empowerment about a decade ago with the establishment of the PMAWCA
Women’s Network, which is working to build the capacity of women in the port and maritime
sector in our sub region.
E D I T O R I A L
PMAWCA for coming Events….
« Meeting of the Board of Directors in
Conakry, Guinea, from the 02th
to 04th
Mai
2016 »…
The MSEPO, TSID and LO TC Meetings in Lomé, Togo - 1st
– 5th
February 2016 / FES & ALA TCs Meetings – Tema, Ghana 8th
-12th
March 2016
At a Glance
Photos from the Technical Committee Meeting in Lomé, Togo and
Tema, Accra
N° 001 January – Feburary. - March .2016
In accordance with the Programme of Activities and the
statutory meetings of the Association, the Technical
Committees (TCs) « Maritime Safety, Environmental
Protection and Exploration (MSEPO) » »Technical
Studies and, Infrastructure and Development (TSID) »’
and the Liaison Officers (LO) » met during the 1st
trimester of the year, in Lomé, Togo from the 1st
– 5th
February 2016. Also in the same light, the Finance and
Economic Studies committee (FES) and the Admin. and
Legal Affairs Committee (ALA) held their meeting in
Tema, Ghana from the 8th
-12th
of March 2016.
These meetings were hosted by the Port of Lomé (PAL)
and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA)
respectively. The meetings were quite successful and
enabled member ports to share different experiences
on themes under discussion and come up with
recommendations to make our ports more competitive
and our Association stronger. Details of the meetings
to follow in the next pages
Details of the meetings to follow in the next pages
At the continental level, PMAWCA spearheaded in 2000, the creation of the Pan African Association for Port
Cooperation (PAPC), which unites the three sub regional port associations namely the Port Management
Association of East and Southern Africa (PMAESA), Union of Port Administrations of Northern Africa (UAPNA) and
PMAWCA. Since its establishment, the PAPC has been organizing biannual conferences on subjects of relevant
interest for the benefit of the ports and maritime sector of the continent. PMAWCA took over the rotational position
of Executive Secretariat of the PAPC since November 2010.
Given the above, among our peers today, PMAWCA is an Association of reference! We are glad to note that in
the last 3 years, many new organizations joined our Association not only to learn from us but also to share their
unique expertise with us. This edition of PMAWCA News will therefore provide you with the following content:
(i) Brief on the outcome of the 37th
Council held in Abidjan in 2015; (ii) 2016 programme of activities; (iii)
Brief on the outcome of the 2016 meetings held so far; (iv) Highlights of what to expect from our 38th
Council meeting in Dakar; (v) Brief on our new members who joined the Association from 2013 to date;
(vi) SG’s missions during the 1st
quarter of 2016 (Consultative meeting with the President of PMAWCA –
approval of 2016 programme - 10th
General Assembly of UASC; presentation of Goodwill Message); (vii) A
teaser on one hot topic for the port sector this year: the CTU Code; (viii) Tit bits on selected members.
To our members, we say: PMAWCA News is news by your Association for your consumption! We therefore invite
all to support this publication by contributing your ideas, views and inputs.
Welcome on board, and enjoy reading!
Editorial ---------------------------------1-
At a glance----------------------------- 1-
Secretariat’s Programme -------------2-
Recommendations of the Technical
Committees ---------------------2-
Summary of Presentations of the
Technical Committees ------------3-
Focus on Lomé Port and Port of Pointe
Noire -----------------4-
Summary…
1

2. In the spirit of unity between maritime and port sister
organisations on our continent, the Association was
represented by the Secretary General. The Secretary
General gave a message of support at the AGM of the
Ghana Shippers’ Council which was held in Accra, Ghana
from the 27th to 30 January 2016.
Secretariat Agenda: The Secretary General’s Working Meeting with the
PMAWCA President in AbidjanIn a bid for the Secretary General to present
his Plan of Action and programme of
activities for the New Year 2016, a working
meeting was held with the President Mr. Hien
SIE at the premises of the Abidjan Port on
Friday 15th January 2016.
This was a beneficial meeting for the
Association as it helped to eliminate any
fears that may cause constraint to this plan.
On the left, the SG, M. Michael LUGUJE, on
the right the PESIDENT MD of PAA, M.
Hien SIE
PMAWCA’s Participation at the 10th AGM of the
Ghana Shipper’s Council in Accra, Ghana
Infos on the CTU code: This is the IMO/OIT/CEE-ONU code on best practices for loading of goods from cargo unites (CTU CODE, which
will come into operations from the 1st
of July 2016 and will be mandatory for all cargo leaving the ports and export. The application of this
CTU code is a requirement that all loadings should conform to the real weight of the cargo before it is loaded for export on all vessels. The
weight should be verified and certified by a competent national authority. Any loading that does not adhere to this condition will be
systemically rejected and offloaded from the vessel. We implore all PMAWCA member port authorities to take all measures to comply
with this provision and its effective date.
As planned, the technical committee meetings of MSEPO, TSID and LO were held
simultaneously on Monday 1st
February 2016. It commenced with a colorful opening
ceremony and various welcome and thank you speeches from the SG of PMAWCA,
the DG of PAL and the representative of the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure.
These meetings went on for 5days with quality presentations by delegates from each
port on themes and recommendations proposed by the secretariats on their agenda.
Having gone through all the recommendations made by each committee to the
secretariat and their mother port to improve port management practices and
competitiveness. The following points were retained:
1. MSEPO : (i) recommends that the Secretary general ensures that the
group, which comprises of Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Ghana and Cape Verde
meet to harmonize proposals for submission, so that the committee can
validate and harmonize the statistics at the next meeting; (ii)
recommends that the committee sets up a platform to showcase
environmental issues, involving cities, public administration and
government agencies who are already involved in problems caused by
climatic change
2. TSID: (i) To encourage the General Secretariat of PMAWCA to accelerate
the research process of investment loans and partners in order to
enable the various Ports applicants to benefit of these facilities as
quickly as possible; (ii) To solve the problem of congestion in our ports,
it is recommended to: Adapt the port facilities to the needs of current
traffic; sensitize all port stakeholders on the negative impact of
congestion in the national economy of countries etc…
3. LOs : In light of the role and the mission assigned to the Liaison Officers
as interface between the General Secretary and ports, they recommend
to support the Secretariat in the elaboration and the execution of its
action plan and to efficiently play their role as interface.
Full reports in three languages (French- English - Portuguese) are available for
download on the PMAWCA website… www.agpaoc_pmawca.org
Recommendations to be retained from the meetings of the Technical
Committees SMPEE, ETID, and LO in Lomé - Togo The ALA and FES Technical committees met in Tema to
discuss themes affecting the administrative and
financial management of Ports as well as that of the
Association. These sessions held for 5 days under
conducive atmosphere. These meetings ended with
words of encouragement and recommendations were
made to the Secretariat and member ports.
Regarding the FES TC, we can retain the following
recommendations which is majorly based on the
financial management of the Association and the
PMAWCA Training Centre: (i) regarding the future of
PTC. The Committee welcomes the suggestions of the
SG and took note of the proposals about the future of
the PTC. However, it suggests a fourth option in
addition to the three options proposed by the
Secretariat. It recommends to the Executive Committee
the appreciation of one of these four options in order
to make a strategic decision on the Centre. (ii) On the
review of the draft budget 2016 of the General
Secretariat. After analyzing this document, the
Committee recommends that the Executive Committee
approve the Secretariat General’s draft budget for
2016.
The ALA TC also worked on administrative matters
affecting the ports in line with the adopted agenda
with the sharing of experiences on a human resource
management theme (details are on the following page)
the following recommendations were made: (i)
Regarding the PTC: the Committee recommends that
the SG should promptly organize a meeting with the
authorities in charge from the port of Cotonou and
SOBEMAP so that they can find the way forward with
the management of the center and its staff. (ii)
Regarding the implementation of the CTU code, which
is expected to come into operations on the 1st
of July
2016, the committee recommends that a sensitization
seminar be organized urgently.
Full reports in three languages (French- English -
Portuguese) are available for download on the PMAWCA
website... www.agpaoc_pmawca.org
Recommendations to be retained from
the meetings of the Technical
Committees FEE and AAJ in Tema -
Ghana
2
TAKE NOTE: Implementation date for the CTU code is July 1st 2016
More info below and the entire code available for download on the site www.agpaoc_pmawca.org

3. Summary of presentations MSEPO / Theme « Environmental
management in PMAWCA Member Ports »
Being that the port community consist of natural, human, technical as well as
artificial resources, technologies and cultural factors, and they are all
connected.
Thereby, we note the existence of various sources of pollution particularly
the waste coming from ship operations (ballast water, oil and sewage), waste
from handling (clinker, bauxite....) waste from the city (plastic bags,
garbage...), electrical and electronic waste (computers, printers...) discharged
in aquatic environments. On cannot also ignore water hyacinth, shipwrecks.
From these presentations, some ports are more advanced in the
management of environmental issues than the others. They have a proper
legal framework on the management of the environment, defining a clear
policy on environmental management, having a plan for environmental
management, realizing audits, regular inspections on the environment,
recycling the product of solid waste and ballast water, measuring the quality
of air and water, having incinerators for waste, acquiring materials of cleanup
of water, holding awareness campaigns, setting up a charter of
environmental governance..
Some ports such as Abidjan, Dakar and San Pedro have obtained
International Certification in accordance with the ISO 14001 standard.
Other ports on the other hand, have no clear system of environmental
management. Port members still have many challenges as regards
management of the environment namely waste management, management
of dangerous goods, preservation of marine resources, pollution
management, the non-involvement in QSE certification process, the non-
quantitative assessment of health risks, the lack of monitoring and state of
environmental reference, the lack of a framework for consultation between
officials in charge of environmental issues.
Subsequent to the enlightening presentations, delegates made constructive
contributions which led to the following recommendations:
- Renew the theme of the environment with emphasis on social
responsibility.
- Renew police regulations and port operations by integrating the
environmental component.
- Establish a port consultation structure on environmental issues with the
involvement of cities and public administrations.
- Establish a structure for consultation with government agencies in charge
of problems caused by climate change
- Urge ports to have a database for the monitoring of the marine
environment.
- Urge member ports to exchange experiences on good practices in
environmental management.
- Encourage the Ports to undertake a study of coastal vulnerability, especially
in port areas, in relation with climate change.
Summary of presentations TSID / presentations on theme
« Problem of congestion in the modern management of
Ports »
Successively, the speakers shared the experience of their
respective ports, compared to the problem of congestion. Each
presentation was followed by a discussion allowing delegates to
capitalize the achievements for the benefit of their Port.
At the end of the different communications, it generally appears
that our ports have developed strategies to face inconveniences
due to congestion caused, among others, (i) the insufficiency or
unavailability of berthing infrastructures, (ii ) low capacity to
accommodate ships (insufficient depth of the port), (iii) the
insufficiency of parking for vehicles, the poor condition and the
smallness of the ways of transports, the inadequacy of storage of
the goods, (iv) abusive stay of empty containers on storage areas
of goods, (v) the frequent congestion at the level of the
weighbridges, and weighs axles, of the control of template and of
the control of ISPS, the dilapidated state of the means of transport,
insufficiency and the low performance of the handling equipment
etc...
Short, medium and long term solutions for our ports, facing the
problems above mentioned, are to:
A / in terms of Infrastructures
_ Create dry ports and their connection to the port by a railway
network
_ Relocate weighbridges, axles weigh, control templates and
control by scanner; increase the number if necessary;
_ Develop multimodal transport.
B / in terms of traffic management
_ Educate users against the productivity of abusive stay of trucks,
empty containers, in compliance with the established rules and
strengthen the sanctions;
_ Ensure respect of the functioning of the port in continuous
regime (24/24 and 7 days/7);
_ Ensure the speed of operations and the formalities of goods
outputs (implementation of one stop-shop);
We can in this sense retain the following recommendations:
1- To solve the problem of congestion in our ports, it is
recommended to:
i. Adapt port facilities as required of existing
traffic;
ii. Educate all port stakeholders on the negative
impact of congestion in the national economy of
countries.
iii. Develop multimodal transport in ports to thin
the port traffic.
iv. Create a port stop shop for countries which do
not yet have ;
v. Create dry ports and their connection to the port
by a railway network;
2- The implementation of the quality control in our ports
and constantly engage in it for the certification ISO 9001
version 2015.
3- Research of funding and partners to finance the
modernization of our ports.
The presentations and the full reports are available on the website www.agpaoc-pmawca.org / general publications
Summaries of presentations by the MSEPO and TSID technical committees in Lomé, from 1st
to 5th
February 2016
3
New members of the PMAWCA
- Reactivation of adhesions of Port of Nouadhibou and
Port of Nouakchott ;
- Adhesion of 2 members for the associate members : (i)
Shipper’s Council of Nigeria end COBENAM of Benin ;
- Adhesion of 4 members for the observers members : (i)
Marine Data Solutions et Hypernica Ltd de l’AFRIQUE DU
SUD; (ii) Transport Event Management de la MALAISIE,
(iii) Groupe Afrique Performance du MAROC.

4. Summary of presentations of ALA Technical
Committee in Tema, from 08 - 12 March 2016
Theme: “Remuneration and retirement Policies- an evaluation
of salaries and social benefits structures in PMAWCA ports"
Overwhelmingly delegates shared various experiences with
their wages and retirement policies. The presentations and
discussions that followed were vibrant and enabled each
delegate to absorb the practices of other ports. The
objective is to derive added value and create proposals in
their respective organizations. However, despite the
restrictions noted with the retirement policies in member
ports, certain practices need to be highlighted to promote
and improve these policies.
Salary structure and bonuses granted
Generally, salaries are paid based on abiding laws, but the
introduction of bonuses and benefits allows room for
improvement in the conditions of port workers. Among these
are: (i) A flexible monthly bonus, known as productivity,
associated to the quality of work and the last assessment,
this productivity bonus, will be payable every six (6) months.
Being 15% of the exact annual salary based on individual
assessment, this will be labelled "performance allowance"
and related to the performance of the company; (ii)
contributions for pilgrimages, Mortgage Allowance (purchase
of land and its construction )
Benefit and retirement policy
(i)An incentive bonus in anticipation of retirement after 10
years of service in the port; (ii) establishment of a retirement
insurance at 50% rates, 75% paid by the employer; (iii) the
employee must be promoted (3) or twelve (12) months
preceding the date of retirement; (iv) The employee who
goes on retirement receives a special allowance called
severance package. The amount is the monthly salary
multiplied by 12 regardless of the position in the company.
The salary serving as the basis of calculation of this
allowance is the average gross salary in the last twelve
months preceding the retirement.
For that purpose, the following recommendation was made:
«Looking at the inadequacy of social cover for retirees in the
different member ports of the Association, the Committee
recommends the implementation of a loyalty bonus in
addition to the severance package in retirement and medical
assistance. »
Being one of the most attractive ports in Central Africa, the 19th century marked its colonisation by France, who then
managed the former Equatorial French territories which is divided into 4 republics namely (Congo, Gabon, Central African
Republic, Chad). They considered the necessity to have a link to the Congo River, through the river and the Loepoldville-
Matadi Railraod. The port commenced operations on the 1st
of April 1939 having launched the project 5 years earlier with
the construction of the 200m deep sea quay. The day after this, the first ocean liner “the Focault” docked and was officially
unveiled in the presence of Governor General Joseph RESTE. Today, it is handled by Mr. Seraphin Bhalat. After several
restructuring of the harbour facilities, the port of Pointe Noire is currently equipped with an 84 hectors quay, which opens
on to the 180m wide open sea, extended by an access channel of 1200 m and dredged to -11, 50 m. Night Beaconing is ensured by a guiding light with the
range of 24 nautical miles; two lights (green and red) at the entrance; two lamps for entry; a green landing float at the end of the quay. PAPN has a towing
facility that can pull in vessels weighing 700 tonnes for maintenance, repairs and private and minimal naval repairs.
Some 2014 PAPN figures
Global Trafic : 8 593 925 Tonnes Import : 5 460 343 Tonnes ;
Export: 3 133 582 Tonnes ; Number of Vessels ; 4 228.
Source, PAPN Website
The history of the maritime and port industry of Togo is closely associated with the
colonial history of the Country. With the successive construction of Warf 1 in 1890,
Warf 2 in 1904 and Warf 3 in 1912 by the Germans, then the construction of the 4th
Warf by the French as a result of the invasion of the German colonies following the
1st world war. The Togolese authorities then decided to build a deep-water sea port
in 1959, because of the inability of the French wharf to cope with the increase in
traffic.
Headed by Rear Admiral ADEGNON Fogan, the Lomé Port was inaugurated on the
26th of April 1968, the 1st of May 1968 is recognised as its official date of operations.
The extension of the facilities between 1974 and 1980 became a recent necessity
given the growth of port activities and annual traffic which crossed 252.600 tonnes
in 1968 to 402.600 tonnes in 1972.
New infrastructure were also put in place: with more than 1752 quay metres (2
moles, an anchorage, a quay carrier and a fishing harbour) allowing the quays to
accommodate between 8 and 10 ships all at once. The quays are protected by two
channels of 1720 and 950 metres which delimits an 81 hectare basin and protect the
Lomé port from disintegrating. With 15 metres deep, the port of Lomé remains the
deepest harbour on the west coast of Africa and can handle massive vessel with big
tonnage thereby guaranteeing its position as the vibrant transhipment port for the
sub-region. Source, Lomé Port Website
Traffic Statistics for 2014
Global Traffic 9 280 004 tonnes
Importation 6 616 764 tonnes
Exportation de 959 814 tonnes
Transbordement 1 703 426 tonnes
Number of Vessels 1 119 Vessels
Calendar of the Association's activities
- TEM, Conference on the Multimodal Transport in Accra on April
7th and 8th, 2016.
- Meeting of the Board Director (BD) to Conakry, Guinea, 2 to 4
Mai 2016.
- 38th
Annual Council PMAWCA Coupled with the 11th
Conference
of the APCP, Dakar from 18th to 22th July 2016.
Managing Director
Focus on the Port of Lomé, P.A.L. The passion for Efficiency…
Focus on the Port of Pointe Noire (PAPN), In the Heart of Africa, the Port of the Future
Director of Publication : M. Michaël LUGUJE Management and Coordination : M. Esaïe Afri KOUASSI
Redaction & Conception : M. Esaïe Afri, M. Péré Samié, M. Tahirou Adenlé, Mme Noah Abiodun Website Link : www.agpaoc-pmawca.org 4
Managing Director