1. THE SIERRA LEONE EXPERIENCE
“THE ROLE OF LIAISON OFFICERS IN THE MARKETING OF PMAWCA WITHIN THE PORT COMMUNITIES AND STRENGTHENING OF COOPERATION BETWEEN MEMBER PORTS”
THE SIERRA LEONE EXPERIENCE
PRESENTED BY
EUSTACE D. O. ROGERS
PMAWCA LIAISON OFFICER
SIERRA LEONE PORTS AUTHORITY

2. INTRODUCTION OF PRESENTER
EUSTACE D. O. ROGERS
SECURITY & SAFETY MANAGER
PMAWCA LIAISON OFFICER
SIERRA LEONE PORTS AUTHORITY
OVER 17 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN THE PORTS INDUSTRY

3. BACKGROUND
When PMAWCA Secretariat conceived the idea of having liaison officers in member ports, their vision was to have someone to serve as:
A depository of information to and from PMAWCA
A vehicle to circulate information received
Collect/process information required

4. BACKGROUND cont’d Analyze such information collected
Forward information collected to PMAWCA
REQUIREMENT TO BE A LIAISON OFFICER
Have a perfect understanding of Port Management and Operations.
Know your port well
Have direct and unfettered access to the CEO of the port.

5. BACKGROUND cont’d
With such access to the CEO, a Liaison Officer can be in a position to:
Notify the CEO of pending PMAWCA programmes and activities
Remind/Collect required information from CEO
Expedite handling of PMAWCA matters by obtaining necessary approvals

6. THE ROLE OF LIAISON OFFICERS THE SIERRA LEONE EXPERIENCE
In the Sierra Leone Ports Authority, we have a forum called the Port Operators Stakeholder forum
In that forum we have:
The Ports Authority
Terminal Operators
Customs
Freight Forwarders
Transporters
Other Government Agencies
Banks
All manner of businesses and agencies doing business at the port

7. The Port Operators/Stakeholders meet once every month
The role of this committee is to discuss issues of mutual interest affecting operators in the port.
This stakeholders forum therefore provides a perfect platform to promote and market PMAWCA to the Sierra Leonean Port Community

8. My role as a Liaison Officer therefore as far as this stakeholders’ forum is concerned is to:
Create awareness about PMAWCA among the wider port community
Sensitize them about the role of PMAWCA, its aims and objectives and how it impacts on port operations and management
Educate stakeholders how to join the association and the benefits of membership of PMAWCA
Share with stakeholders SLPA’s experiences and benefits gained from membership of PMAWCA
Coordinate responses and facilitate registration of new members

9. The product of the above mentioned roles of the Liaison Officers will definitely promote the activities of PMAWCA among members of the Sierra Leonean Port Community.

10. STRENTHENING OF COOPERATION AMONG PORT MEMBERS
A key component of the success of the efforts to strengthen cooperation among member ports of the Association (PMAWCA) is the Liaison Officer.
The Liaison Officer serves as a focal point of reference for not only other Technical Committees of the Association but also for member ports
They assist others in their work by sharing information and providing the necessary feedbacks to, not only the PMAWCA Secretariat to advance its work, but also to member ports as and when the need arises.

11. This can be achieved, in my opinion, through the breaking of barriers and formality among Liaison Officers.
Through this medium, there will be a personal interest in assisting colleagues to get the information they require to facilitate their work.
Examples of such cooperation are as follows:

12. Creation of a whatsapp group for Liaison Officers – This was the outcome of discussions between myself (Sierra Leone), Pauline Mbawa (Ghana) and Afri Kouassi (PMAWCA).
This medium provided a platform to share information on the flight plans of delegates to this meeting.
In 2017, a team from the Port of Freetown (Sierra Leone) was to visit the Port of Lome (Togo) at very short notice. This visit was organized successfully through the intervention of M. Haladako, LO of the Port of Lome, Togo for which I am grateful.

13. THE ROLE OF PMAWCA SECRETARIAT IN STRENGTHENING THE LO COMMITTEE
The PMAWCA Secretariat too can assist the Liaison Officers in strengthening the cooperation among member ports by:
Continuing to provide the enabling environment for the Liaison Officers to be meeting such as in Technical Committees like this
Facilitating the training of Liaison Officers in a second working language to enable easy communication among Liaison Officers. On this point, member ports also need to take advantage of this opportunity provided.

14. ANY QUESTIONS???

15. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!!!