Senegal: 38th PMAWCA kicks-off in Dakar, to make African ports more competitive

How to make African ports more competitive was the issue on the table at the 38th Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) in Dakar, Senegal.

Managers of Africa’s ports met to deliberate on how globalization should facilitate intra-African trade.

The conference which was held between February 13-17, witnessed Africa and global port experts including speakers from World Trade Organization (WTO) and the African Development Bank (ADB).

This year’s edition focused on “Quality approach in African Ports toward ISO certification : challenges and prospects.

“We must first of all increase the role of intra-African trade, which is very low, less than 15%, and the dynamics of Africa in world trade, which is less than 3%.” said Cheikh Kante, Director General autonomous port of Dakar.

Beyond questioning the economic model of African ports, participants at the summit also pointed out challenges of infrastructure.

African ports play an essential role in the economic growth of the continent, but they are still struggling in several areas, such as infrastructure and logistics.

The organisers are aware of this set backs and made them major priorities.

The Dakar meeting set the stage for sustainable solutions to make Africa a hub for trade and maritime business.

During the delibrations dedicated to “Port community System, quality acceleration for African logistics” SOGET gave a testimony of best practices of change management with port stakeholders in the context of PCS implementation.

The port Management Association of West Africa and the Central Africa (PMAWCA) is a sub-regional intergovernmental economic organisation, consisting of twenty-two consistent member ports and Nine Associate members including landlocked countries and maritime organizations.

The members are all located along the West Coast of the Africa continent extending from Mauritania to Angola.