The Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA) and the African Media Initiative [AMI] have agreed to work together to raise awareness on the maritime economy through media related activities.
The agreement was made following a visit by PMAESA Secretary General Ms Nozipho Mdawe and Head of Communications Mr George Sunguh to the AMI headquarters in Nairobi.
The PMAESA delegation met the AMI management team including Mr Eric Chinje, Chief Executive Officer; Mr Wangethi Mwangi, Senior Adviser and Mr Meredith Beal, Technology Advisor.
The meeting discussed possible areas of synergy between the two organizations in raising the profile of the maritime economy and related activities on the continent.
‘Knowledge of the sector remains extremely low in Africa and the dissemination of information on the maritime sector has been a challenge as few journalists understand the sector’ a release by PMAESA states in part.
AMI CEO Chinje noted that the maritime sector would create jobs for Africans and also enhance international trade.
“The public needs to be informed about opportunities that abound in the Blue Economy and about harnessing the potential of Africa’s seas and oceans,” the release adds.
During the meeting Ms Mdawe informed the AMI team of the forthcoming PMAESA annual conference to be held between 15th and 19th November in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to discuss ‘Port Strategies for Harnessing the African Blue Economy and Investment Options’.
She said the blue economy could be the next frontier to help alleviate poverty in Africa if properly harnessed.
PMAESA is an intergovernmental agency founded by the United Nations Economic Commission (UNECA) in 1973 to harmonize seaport and maritime activities in 21 countries within the Eastern and Southern Africa and is headquartered in Mombasa, Kenya.
The member countries include: Angola, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Mauritius.
Others are Namibia, Reunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
AMI on the other hand is a pan African effort aimed at providing the continent’s private and independent media owners and practitioners with the tools they need to play an effective role in their societies. AMI was founded after a research done under the auspices of BBC World Service Trust and UNECA and is included in the 2005 G8 Gleneagles and Commission for Africa recommendations.
