Achievements

Private sector involvement in areas traditionally reserved for parastatals is now a world-wide trend. In furtherance of this issue, PMAESA, in association with USAID and SADC, organised a sensitisation seminar in December 1995, targeting officials from Ministries of transport, port authorities, and members of port communities. This was followed by three national workshops, in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique, to further develop issues discussed during the regional seminar, according to the unique conditions of each country. A regional workshop on ports restructuring was held in January 2002 in Mauritius. Members and stakeholders who attended the workshop benefited widely from the Port Reform Toolkit developed by the World Bank.

In partnership with IAPH (International Association of Ports and Harbours), PMAWCA (Port Management Association of West and Central Africa) and UAPNA (North Africa Port Management Association), and with the support of IMO, the first African Ports Seminar was held in Mombasa, Kenya in January 1998. The seminar brought together almost all African ports to deliberate on issues that will affect ports and the maritime industry in the next millenium. PMAESA has held other seminars and conference, which includes the ports conference held in Cape Town (South Africa) and Ngorongoro (Tanzania) in 2002.

The commitment of the Association to promote the safety of navigation has been consistent throughout the years. This was demonstrated by the initiation and active participation of the Association in the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control that was signed in Pretoria, South Africa in June 1998.

It was felt that there was need to create a co-ordinating body that encompassed the three regional Port Associations in order to have unitary representation for the African Continent in international fora. Thus with the support of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, a constitution for the establishment of the Pan-African Association for Port Co-operation was approved by the three Associations.

The development of Cruise tourism in the Indian Ocean region is an important goal that PMAESA sees as achievable only through the close co-operation of Port authorities and National tourism organisations of the region. In order to co-ordinate and focus the efforts of all stakeholders, the Cruise Indian Ocean Association was established last year.