Paul Ansah heads GPHA … after years of dedicated service

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appointed Mr Paul Ansah, a Communication and marketing expert as the new Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA).

In a letter of appointment to the new Director General President, President Akufo-Addo wrote: Pursuant to section 8(2) of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority Act, 1986 (PNDCL 160) I hereby appoint you to act as the Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, pending receipt of the constitutionally required advice of the governing board of the Authority, given in consultation with the Public Services Commission. I take this opportunity to congratulate you formally on your appointment. Kindly indicate your acceptance or otherwise of this appointment. Thank you.

Meanwhile, Mr Paul Ansah, who was formally in charge of the marketing department at the  Takoradi Port, where he helped to bring business, especially from the Sahelian region to the port, has promised to apply his  rich knowledge and experience in the maritime industry to improve the efficiency and productivity at the ports, enhance the quality of service delivery in our ports, transform the port industry into the beacon for economic growth in Ghana and position our ports as the maritime hub for trade and industry in the entire sub-region

Mr Ansah holds UNCTAD Post Graduate Diploma in Senior Port Management, Dublin, Ireland, 2016, Commonwealth Executive Master's Degree in Business Administration – Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, 2015, Post Graduate Diploma in Port Management, JICA Institute, Yokohama, Japan, 2003, Post Graduate Diploma in Port Administration, Galilee Collage, Israel, 199,  Post Graduate Degree in Communication Studies, University of Ghana, 1993, BA. Hons – Humanities – University of Ghana – 1988.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Corporate Affairs and Marketing Manager, Ghana Ports & Harbours Authority (Current), Management Consultant on Public Private Partnership for Nigeria Port Authority, 2013-2015, Member, National Trade Facilitation Committee, 2014-2016, Marketing & Public Relations Manager and Chairman of the Strategic Management Team, Port of Tema, 2013-2015, Member, GPHA Institutional Restructuring Committee, 2013, Chairman of the Technical Committee on Trade, Investment, Transport and Free Movement: Ghana-Burkina Faso Permanent Joint Commission for Co-operation, 2011.

He was also the Chairman of the Technical Committee on Trade, Transport and Free Movement, Tourism and Information Technology:  Ghana-Ivory Coast Permanent Joint Commission for Co-operation, 2012, Chairman, Transit Shipper Committee of Ghana Shippers' Authority, Takoradi, 2010-2012, West Africa Trade Hub Advocacy Group Leader on Transit Facilitation, 2009-2012, Member, ECOWAS Stakeholder Working Group on Transport Facilitation, 2011, Marketing and Customer Services Manager and Chairman of the Strategic Management Team – Port of Takoradi, 2009 -2012, GPHA’s Resident Representative to Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, 2005 – 2009.

He also once served as the Marketing and Customer Services Manager, Port of Takoradi, 2001 – 2005, World Bank Communications Consultant on The FCUBE and the Public Sector Management Reform Projects, 1999-2002, Public Affairs Manager-GPHA, 1998 – 2001, Senior Public Relations Officer- GPHA, 1994 – 1998.

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS:
He established an emphatically Positive Corporate Image for GPHA in the local and international business community, Won for GPHA the “Public Sector PR Organization of the Year-2015”.

Awarded by the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana, Won for the Port of Tema the Public Relations Campaign of the Year-2015 with: “The Tema Port Integrity Project”. Awarded by the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana, Won for the Port of Tema, the “Best Performing Port in West and Central Africa-2014” Awarded by Port Management Association of West and Central Africa.

He also won for the Port of Tema, the “Best Performing Container Terminal in West and Central Africa-2014”. Awarded by Port Management Association of West and Central Africa, Transformed the Port of Takoradi from a “Dead Port” requiring no warehouse to a vibrant port that attracted $7 million worth of warehousing facilities in four years, 2001-2005, Won for the Port of Takoradi, the “Century International Quality Era Award in Gold Category” at the 14thInternational Quality Convention in Geneva Switzerland. 2002, Drafted speeches on ports and maritime matters for Presidents Rawlings, Kufuor, Mills and Mahama, as well as their transport ministers from 2000 to date

Has facilitated many international conferences and delivered professional papers in Ghana, Australia, South Africa, Japan, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Korea, Mali, etc.

SPECIAL SKILLS & ATTRIBUTES
Strategic Planning and Management Skills, Transformative Leadership Skills,  Excellent Communication Skills, Goal and Results Oriente,  Team Player with profound Organizational Skills

LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE:
President, Fellowship of Christian Businessmen & Professionals International of Lighthouse Chapel – Tema &Takoradi, 1999-2005, National President, National Union of Ghana Students, 1992-1993, National President, Ghana United Nations Youth & Students Association, 1991 – 1992, Coordinating Secretary, National Union of Ghana Students, 1989 – 1991, General Secretary, Ghana United Nations Youth & Students Association, 1988 -1988, President of Legon Hall, University of Ghana, Legon, 1986 – 1987, Senior Prefect, Winneba Secondary School, 1983

POLITICAL BACKGROUND:
Member of Eastern Regional NPP Special Elections Volunteers – 2016, Member of Eastern Regional NPP Communication Strategy Team: – 2016, Member of Eastern Regional NPP Council of Patrons: 2015 – 2016, Member of the Asuogyaman Constituency Campaign Team for Election 2016, NPP Parliamentary Aspirant for Asuogyaman Constituency –  2015,  Chairman of Asuogyaman NPP Council of Patrons: 2014 – 2016,  NPP Pooling Agent in the Asuogyaman Constituency, 2012, Member of Eastern Regional NPP Council of Patrons: 2011 – 2012, NPP Parliamentary Aspirant for Asuogyaman Constituency –  2011.

Member of the Western Regional NPP Finance Committee: 2010-2011, NPP Parliamentary Aspirant for Asuogyaman Constituency – 2007, Member of the NPP since 1992, Member of the Movement for Freedom and Justice committed to returning Ghana to Democratic Rule 1990 – 1992, Member of the Coordinating Committee of Democratic Forces committed to returning Ghana to Democratic Rule: 1988 -1989

PRO-DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISM:
Led the National Union of Ghana Students to reject and successfully fight against the promulgation of some obnoxious PNDC Laws in the late 1980s: Religious Bodies Registration Law, Newspaper Licensing Law,  Habeas Corpus Amendment Law, Originated the idea of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (Get-Fund) in 1988, Was brutalized and detained by the Police Striking Force at the Greater Accra Regional Police Headquarters for standing up to the brutalization and extortionist tendencies of the dreaded Commandos of the PNDC era in 1989.

FAMILY BACKGROUND:
Married with three children to Mrs. Frances Mullen Ansah, a Principal State Attorney.

By Emmanuel Akli