Kofi Ampeah Woode
The two-week German Government-sponsored Maritime Security and Transnational Organized Crime (MSTOC) Course II-2023, commenced at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) to improve knowledge, skills, and competences in the maritime sector, and to stay current with the sophistication with which transnational crimes are currently being perpetrated in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).
Delivering the opening remarks on Monday 6 November 2023, at the West African Training Centre of Excellence (TCE), Teshie, the Training Director, KAIPTC – Colonel (Col) Barnabas Anorph Akanbong said, despite efforts by various stakeholders to stem the tide of maritime crimes in the GoG, 21 incidents were said to have been reported in the first 9 months of 2023, compared to 14 for the same period in 2022.
He continued that four of the reports were classified as piracy incidents and 17 as armed robberies, during the course of which incidents, 54 crew members were taken hostage.
These and a number of other cases, Col Akanbong said, show that piracy in the GoG is still a problem and remains a great threat to regional maritime security, and that, only by stepping up capacity building, information sharing, coordination, cooperation, and collaboration amongst stakeholders, would this concerning trend be reversed.
The Training Director continued that the region’s present maritime security risks, which range from brazen ship robberies at sea, through illegal oil bunkering, kidnapping for ransom, and the trafficking of drugs, weapons, and people, thrive on shortfalls on the side of essential institutions who have the duty to confront these problems.
He averred that a greater degree of cooperation between stakeholders at all levels, being bilateral, multilateral, intra-agency, regional, inter-regional, and international, is required in light of these worries.
The Political Advisor, at the German Embassy in Accra – Ms Pauline Okkens, who was the Guest of Honour at the opening ceremony, said combating piracy, human trafficking, illegal fishing, pollution, oil bunkering, drug trafficking, smuggling of small arms and light weapons, and other organized crimes can be effectively achieved through the coordinated efforts of coastal states and maritime related bodies in the GoG.
She continued that Germany’s sponsorship of the training is in keeping with the federal government’s goal in assisting the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU), in building the capacity of critical maritime security actors, like law enforcement officials, military and police personnel, citizens from both state and non-state actors.
She added that Germany favors a regional approach to crisis prevention and conflict management on the African continent and Sub-Saharan Africa in particular, and that the course lays the groundwork for improved working relationships, and a common understanding among marine stakeholders, from the several Zones in the GoG maritime region.
Twenty (20) participants – Fourteen (14) Ghanaians, drawn from the Military, Immigration Service, Prisons Service, Petroleum Commission, Ports and Harbours Authority, Fisheries Commission, Narcotics Control Commission, GoG Maritime Institute and media outfits, with Eight (8) from Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, and Senegal.
Course Facilitators include the Chief of the Naval Staff of the Ghana Navy – Rear Admiral Issah Adam Yakubu, Commodore Kakra Addison (Rtd), Colonel Barthelemy Blede, Mr Ben Ndego, Dr Ibrahim Bangura, amongst many.
