The General Manager, GM, of the Port Authority of Douala, PAD, Emmanuel Oyono Etoundi, has instructed workers of the State owned company to prioritise the ongoing decongestion at the Sea Port.

Oyono Etoundi made the call in Douala, while installing top management personnel of the company, who were recently appointed during a Board meeting in Kribi. The Board meeting was presided over by the Board Chair, Shey Jones Yembe.

The same message was reechoed by the Deputy General Manager of PAD, Charles Moukoko, on January 30, in Douala, while installing the second category of persons who were recently appointed by the GM.

The Douala Port, last year suffered heavy congestion that almost grounded its activities.

Due to this, importers, exporters and transporters were forced to wait for weeks offshore, before gaining access to the Sea Port, with heavy financial consequences on both the parties and the country’s economy. PAD has been crusading for the effective decongestion of the Port.

More harbours to decongest their port

The GM of PAD reminded the newly appointed officials that the decongestion at the Port is imperative, as the Port handles 95 percent of Cameroon’s external trade, thus, the importance of the Port cannot be overemphasised.

The PAD boss asserted that the decongestion of the Port will, among other things, reduce time and cost. According to him, when there is an increase in cost due to congestion, the management of the ships will pass on the additional costs to importers, who, in turn, transfer the cost to the consumers by increasing the prices of imported products.

On the growing competition between ports in the Gulf of Guinea, the PAD GM stressed that one of the ways to put the Douala Port in competition is to effectively curb congestion.

One of the measures that the Etoundi-led management has adopted to curb congestion at the Douala Sea Port, is to increase the number of harbours.

There are currently 15 harbours at the Douala Port, which was created around 1948. The PAD management is reportedly planning to create five or six more harbours. This will enable more ships to be able to dock at the Port.

Indiscipline will not be condoned

The Deputy GM of PAD, Moukoko, in his January 30 installation address, called on the over 100 appointed personnel to constantly manifest a spirit of duty consciousness, discipline and moral rectitude.

He instructed them to among other things, strive to ensure the prompt treatment of files that come to their different services.

He warned that the PAD will not condone laxity or indiscipline, and will not hesitate to sanction whenever the need arises. The management of PAD, he said, is also focused on its march towards attaining certification (Iso 9001 version – 2008).

First Anglophone Director of Communication This was an appointments made by the PAD Board brought to propel a changes in the area of communication.

The senior management personnel that were installed comprised of four Technical Advisers and nine Operational Directors.

The lone Anglophone in the group is a senior journalist, Nchechuma Banla Nchetievie, who is the new Director of Communication and Cooperation at PAD.

Nchechuma worked at CRTV Douala for several years, before moving over to PAD some years ago. He is the first Anglophone ever appointed to the post of Director of Communication in the company.

Nchechma holds an International Executive MBA as well as a Masters Degree in Human Resources Management, both obtained at the St. Jerome Catholic University of Douala.