Ghana Ports Authority gets new DG

ABIOLA Seun |

The Secretary General of the Ports Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA), Mr Michael Achagwe Luguje, has officially assumed office as Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA).

His appointment took effect from the 2nd of July 2018.

Luguje’s appointment was approved in June by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, following his decision to sack the erstwhile Director General Mr Paul Asare. The Director of Tema Ports, Mr Edward Kofi Osei, was directed to act in the capacity while Luguje “clears” his desk at the PMAWCA Secretariat in Lagos, Nigeria.

An accomplished bilingual port management specialist, who has served at very senior levels at international port and maritime institutions, Luguje’s managerial skills, will no doubt help GPHA to reposition Ghana as the preferred hub of maritime commerce in West Africa, in line with President’s Akufo-Addo’s vision.

Luguje has garnered extensive cognate experience in the ports sector of West and Central Africa; as a reforms and change expert with remarkable achievements in team building, employee motivation, and strict adherence to service quality and productivity.

Luguje joined GPHA in 1999 after serving as a National Youth Intern with the organization the previous year. During his early days, he distinguished himself as a disciplined pacesetter and rose to become Special Assistant to the Director General of GPHA about five years after joining the organization.

He secured his first high profile international position in 2007 as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Regional Coordinator for West and Central Africa.

After five years with the IMO, he was elected as Secretary General of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) in 2012. PMAWCA is a sub-regional intergovernmental economic organization, made up of 23 Regular Member Ports and nine Associate Members including landlocked countries and maritime organizations, all located along the Western Atlantic Coast of the African continent, stretching from Mauritania to Angola.

While on his tour of duty at PMAWCA, he also served as Executive Secretary of the Pan African Association of Port Cooperation (PAPC), the continental body for the three regional port associations, from 2012 to 2017.

Luguje holds an Executive MBA in Project and Strategic Management from the Paris Graduate School of Management and Master of Science in Maritime Affairs (Port Management Specialization) from the World Maritime University (WMU), Malmo – Sweden.

He is also a Graduate of French and Linguistics, University of Ghana (Legon). He has attended numerous professional training seminars and workshops on port reforms, human resource management, performance indicators, concessions management and project management.