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MARITIME ORGANISATION OF WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA (MOWCA) Sub-Regional Sectoral Integration - for cost effective maritime/transit transport services, high on safety, security, low on pollution |
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REPORT ON THE TRANSIT TRANSPORT SYMPOSIUM, HELD IN ABIDJAN COTE D'IVOIRE Following the presentations, participants held general discussions during which they exchanged views, which enabled them to diagnose the transit transport conditions and to make the following recommendations: Road Transit In order to ensure flow of road transit, it is necessary for member States to effectively implement the related conventions and agreements, particularly: - the Inter-State Road Transit Convention (ISRT/ECOWAS) For proper implementation of the Conventions, it is necessary to ensure the adequate training and regular sensitisation of road transit operators. It is also necessary to: - establish dry ports inside the landlocked countries to facilitate the storage and clearing of transit good by the customs. - set up an observatory of malpractices with the obligation to communicate the costs, timeframe and number of check points to the top management. In addition, it is necessary to set up a financing system for the renewal of road vehicles Finally, it is highly advisable to establish a Regional Road Fund in order to ensure regular maintenance of the road network. Rail transit To overcome the financial and technical difficulties being encountered in the operation of railways networks, the competent authorities should readjust their investments and seek other forms of management with a view to providing more competitive services which are regular, of quality and cheaper. Customs regulations and procedures In order to facilitate the customs procedures and the flow of transit goods, the symposium recommends, among others: - ratification and implementation of the relevant international conventions - training and upgrading of customs agents, forwarding agents, transport operators and vehicle drivers - setting up of national facilitation committees (FAL Committees) - strengthening of cooperation between the customs services of landlocked and transit countries - production of a single sub-regional customs document - implementation of the technical measures for road transport vehicles as provided for in the ISRT Convention, among them, the setting up of National Committees for vehicles licensing and implementation of the sealed grill system for goods transportation vehicles. - establishment of overlapping check points at borders. -Implementation of the transit transport systems in the sub-region The Symposium on Transit Transport, organised by the Maritime Organisation for West and Central Africa (MOWCA) with financial assistance from the European Union and support from the Ivorian Government, was held in Hôtel Ivoire, Abidjan, from 27th February - 1st March 2001, under the high patronage of Honourable Aimé KABRAN APPIA, Minister of Transport of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. The former Chairman of MOWCA, Honourable Isidore MVOUBA, Minister of Transport, Civil Aviation in charge of Merchant Shipping of the Republic of Congo was also in attendance which enhanced the symposium. The symposium was held in plenary, in the "Salle des fêtes", Hotel Ivoire, under the chairmanship of Mr. Jules KOFFI, Technical Adviser at the Ministry of Transport of Côte d'Ivoire. The following addresses were delivered during the opening ceremony: - Welcome address by Mr. Magnus Teye ADDICO, Secretary General, MOWCA - Statement by Hon. Isidore MVOUBA, Minister of Transport, Civil Aviation in charge of Merchant Shipping of the Republic of Congo, current Chairman of MOWCA - Opening statement by Hon. Aimé KABRAN APPIA, Minister of Transport of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire In his statement, the Secretary General of MOWCA expressed the Organisation's gratitude to the European Union for its financial assistance which facilitated the holding of the symposium. He also took this opportunity to remind participants that the symposium would provide a platform for preparing the MOWCA member states across the West and Central African sub-region for the United Nations meeting of governmental experts, scheduled for next year. It would also lead to reviewing an action program for finding a lasting solution to the problem of transit transport and its negative impact on transit trade and economic integration. The Action Program will set out priority activities to be undertaken by transit transport policy makers, suppliers and users of transit services, to define the modalities for co-operation between all parties concerned and to take into account the outputs of these activities and their expected impact on the transit transport system and its self-financing. The Chairman of MOWCA welcomed the initiative taken to organise the Symposium, which provides a unique opportunity to reflect on the critical problems being encountered by the countries of the sub-region in the field of transit transport and to prepare a common programme of action for significant improvement of the existing one. He took the opportunity to renew his appeal to MOWCA member states to speed up the process of establishment of the Regional Maritime Fund, which they decided to set up in 1999, so as to enable the Organisation to play its role as a "one-stop shop" for the management of the maritime and multimodal transport issues. In his opening address, the Hon. Minister of Transport of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire stated that, in accepting to host this symposium, his country wishes to fully associate itself with the initiatives aimed at ensuring that transit transport in African countries are more competitive, meaning that the services are more regular, they are faster, safer and cheaper. He therefore called on participants to work out appropriate efficient horizontal and vertical cooperation strategies which would enable the countries of the sub-region to achieve a rational and performing organisation of their transit transport. BUREAU OF THE SYMPOSIUM After the opening ceremony, participants elected and set up the bureau of the symposium as follows: Chairman: Republic of Côte d'Ivoire Rapporteurs' Committee Chairman : Republic of Mali WORK PROGRAMME AND CONDUCT OF DELIBERATIONS After setting up the Bureau, participants adopted a work programme which is appended in annex. They also decided to meet in plenary to facilitate the sharing of experience. On the basis of the work programme, participants followed with great interest: - the general presentations made respectively on: · the transit transport system in West and Central Africa, by the Secretary General of MOWCA · work carried out at international level on transit transport. The note of presentation prepared by Mr. Peter FAUST (UNCTAD) was presented by Mr. Augustin KARANGA, consultant · experience in transit and multimodal transport in Eastern Africa, by the Transit Transport Coordination Authority (TTCA) · UEMOA experience on transit transport, presented by the Director of Transport & Telecommunications - the reports on the studies conducted by Consultants on the following sub-themes: · road transit - the presentations by the resource persons and the representatives of state and private bodies. MOWCA which covers the whole of West and Central Africa should work in close collaboration with the other regional and sub-regional organisations (ECOWAS, UEMOA, UNCTAD, ECA, OAU) in order to facilitate ratification and implementation of the relevant sub-regional and international conventions. In order to ensure cooperation and proper coordination among the transit trade agencies, each member country is requested to set up a facilitation committee which would meet regularly to appraise the scheme in order to identify areas hindering its implementation and proffer solutions. At the level of each member country, the facilitation committee and the shippers' council or similar body, should be the appropriate body to receive complaints on breaches regarding the implementation of MOWCA resolutions for presentation to MOWCA. In order to facilitate passage of transit goods, the facilitation committees and the shippers' councils or similar bodies should ensure follow-up of the implementation of the recommendations and allow for their coordination among agencies at the borders, through MOWCA sub-regional offices at borders and thus ensure prompt passage of transit goods. MOWCA should also ensure provision of maritime information and logistic services through internet/web sites in order to facilitate, among others, exchange of information and experience as well as implementation of the transit transport system in the sub-region. Participants welcomed the decision taken in 1999 by the Ministers of Transport of MOWCA to establish a regional maritime fund based on the levy of a 10cents dollar charge on loaded and unloaded goods for the funding of the sub-regional maritime projects and programs. In this connection, participants renewed the appeal made to the member Sates by the current Chairman of MOWCA to speed up implementation of the new financing system adopted by the Ministers of Transport towards the funding of the Regional Maritime Fund. In order to ensure effective implementation of the recommendations, the symposium requests MOWCA to work in close collaboration with the member states and the other interested regional and sub-regional organisations, particularly: ECOWAS, UEMOA, CEMAC, ECA and OAU. Finally, participants agreed that this report, which outlines the main recommendations, would be completed by a detailed annex to be prepared in the light of the contributions made during the deliberations. At the end of the meeting, participants adopted the following three votes of thanks: - vote of thanks to the Head of State, the Government and People of Côte d'Ivoire 37. Participants took the opportunity to appeal to all development partners and donors to favourably consider every request for technical and financial assistance for the implementation of the recommendations of the symposium. The Delegation of Guinea Bissau expressed the wish that the General Secretariat of MOWCA forwards full documentation on the Organisation to them so that they may be kept posted as are the other member states. They also proposed that the Secretary General undertakes a mission of information and sensitisation to the Authorities of Guinea Bissau to ensure greater involvement of this member country in the running of MOWCA. ADOPTION OF THE REPORT Participants proceeded to adopt this report after amendments. CLOSING OF MEETING During the closing ceremony chaired by Honourable Aimé KABRAN APPIA, Minister of Transport of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, the under-mentioned statements were delivered, full details of which are appended in annex to this Report: - Statement by the Chairman of the Symposium · The Chairman of the symposium, Mr. Jules KOFFI, Technical Adviser at the Ministry of Transport of Côte d'Ivoire, thanked all participants for their positive contribution and for the brotherly atmosphere which facilitated the smooth conduct and ensured the success of the deliberations. · He also thanked the Secretary General, MOWCA, and the entire support staff for their valuable assistance.
· The Secretary General of MOWCA, Mr. Magnus Teye ADDICO, thanked the Minister of Transport of Côte d'Ivoire and the current Chairman of MOWCA for their support and effective participation in the symposium. · He paid tribute to the European Union for its financial support and congratulated the other organisations, particularly: the OAU, UNCTAD, ECA, ECOWAS, UEMOA, CEMAC and TTCA, not only for their support to the symposium, but also for their efforts in the transit transport sector. · The Secretary General also congratulated the Consultants and Resource Persons for their outstanding reports and presentations which facilitated technical framing and smooth running of the symposium. · He also thanked the Chairman of the symposium Bureau, the national organisation committee, the General Secretariat staff and all participants for their contribution to the success of the deliberations. He also wished that the follow-up to the symposium is positive, in the interest of the sub-region. · Finally, he stated that MOWCA will take all necessary action to facilitate implementation of the conventions and recommendations on transit transport in the sub-region. - Statement by the Chairman of MOWCA · The Chairman of MOWCA, Honourable Isidore MVOUBA, Minister of Transport, Civil Aviation, in charge of Merchant Shipping of the Republic of Congo, first congratulated the Secretary General of MOWCA and the entire staff of the General Secretariat for their efforts which led to the results achieved. · He then congratulated participants for their valuable contribution to the symposium and, above all, for the mutual understanding and spirit of solidarity which prevailed during the deliberations. · Finally, the current Chairman congratulated his Colleague, the Minister of Transport of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire for his availability and for his great support to the symposium. Closing statement by the Minister of Transport of Côte d'Ivoire · The Minister of Transport of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Honourable Aimé KABRAN APPIA closed the symposium. · The Minister of Transport expressed his appreciation for the brotherly atmosphere which prevailed during the discussions and congratulated participants for their positive contributions to the symposium. · In this connection, and expressing his appreciation for the positive results achieved, the Minister of Transport stated that this was an important step toward the setting up of a true flow of transit trade policy. · Finally, the Minister of Transport paid great tribute to the current Chairman of MOWCA, Honourable Isidore MVOUBA for his great availability at the service of the sub-region. 1. Republic of Angola The representatives of the following organisations also participated in the symposium: - Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA) The following bodies of the MOWCA system were also represented: · Regional Maritime Academy of Abidjan (ARSTM) |
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