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The staff of the PSC Tema Shipyard Limited has called on President John Dramani Mahama, to as a matter of urgency transfer the management of the dry dock into the hands of the Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority (GPHA) for good leadership and management.

Addressing a press briefing held by the Senior and Junior Staff Association Union-MDU of the Tema Shipyard Limited yesterday at Tema, the Acting Chairman of the Senior Staff Association, Christian Dogbe, said the Maritime Dockworkers Union (MDU) District Executive held a press conference requesting that the Tullow Ghana Limited did not have good intensions for the Shipyard and that it was needful the Shipyard be handed over to GPHA.

He noted that a report by the Chris Akumey Committee mentioned the proposal by the workers of the Shipyard demanding GPHA take over the running and management of the shipyard was considered worthy by the committee such that the MDU and its General Secretary fully supported the recommendation of GPHA.

“Today what has changed? Why the sudden U-turn by the MDU now recommending a Consortium of GPHA, SSNIT and GNPC? What is SSNIT and GNPC bringing on board? Is it money or expertise? Why did the Government not ask GNPC and SSNIT to also contribute in raising the USD 6.36M but GPHA hand to single handedly cough out the amount”? he asked.

“The MDU General Secretary and the District Executive have soon forgotten that the Tullow Oil Ghana Limited (TOGL) project of investing USD 25M to USD 25M to USD 30M in 2013 to partly upgrade the Shipyard was a GNPC/Government of Ghana (GoG) Sponsored Project, which was totally and vehemently rejected by MDU. The objective of GNPC at the time is to use the Shipyard as a fabrication enclave for some of the components for the recently inaugurated FPSO ` Atta Mills` for the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) Complex Project and other upcoming projects beyond the `TEN` Project, such as the ENI Project that had already taken off. The total cost of rehabilitation and staff training for the project was to be recovered from GoG/TOGL Petroleum Account, as part of the total development cost of the TEN Project. One may ask; it is now that the MDU Executives` faces are clearer for them to know that the GNPC can equally contribute to the developing of the Shipyard”? he quizzed further.

According to Christian Dogbe, this clearly showed that the MDU lacked knowledge about the Shipyard they claimed they superintended over, alleging that the MDU did not have the interest of the Shipyard at heart.

He said that the working environment at the Shipyard was no more conducive and encouraging as bitterness and displeasure had filled the staff with regards to the mismanagement and bad running of the yard by the CEO, Mr. HRT Ali and his management.

He noted that there had been countless dissonance between management and staff of the Shipyard due to the poor management and the bad system of running the Shipyard.

The Acting Chair of the Senior Staff Association however, called on the President not to look elsewhere for strategic foreign investors with requisite capital and expertise to turn the fortunes of the Shipyard round whilst the competent and trustworthy GPHA was around.

Pointing out why the GPHA would be more useful in managing the Shipyard, the Acting Chairman noted that the handling of incoming and outgoing vessels at the Tema Shipyard was under the ambit of the GPHA, and that power distribution system at Dock II and its operational areas were still under the control of GPHA.  

He further said that GPHA has made and continued to make some commitments and sacrifices towards the progress of the Shipyard.

“One of such sacrifices is the payback of the Malaysian 60% stake in the Shipyard. GPHA paid about USD 6.36 million for this”, underscored.

He observed that in order to prevent capital flight from the Shipyard, the running of affairs of the facility should be handed over to GPHA.

He said that the working environment at the Shipyard was no more conducive and encouraging as bitterness and displeasure had filled the staff with regards to the mismanagement and bad running of the yard by the CEO, Mr. HRT Ali and his management.

He, therefore, called on the Minister of Transport, Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey, to intervene for the reinstatement of two executives of the Senior Staff Association, Messrs. Michael Ofori-Frimpong and Samuel Ayensu, and Bless K. Kpovie, a Manager, all of who were sacked after petitioning the President, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, on the merger of GPHA and the Shipyard and other petitions about the mismanagement by the current CEO, Mr. HRT Ali.