Ghana has been voted the Vice Chairman of the Union of African Shippers Council (UASC) for the first time in the history of the organisation.
The country, through the Ghana Shippers' Authority (GSA), got the position at the union's recent executive elections held in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ghana will serve in that capacity for the next two years, after which it will automatically qualify to become the chairman.

The Head of Freight and Logistics at the GSA, Madam Sylvia Asana Owu, disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in Accra after participating in the union's annual meetings.

"Two years ago, we tried our luck by putting up a bid for that very position but it didn't materialise. Fortunately for us, we got it this year," an elated Madam Owu said in an interview.

Although Ghana has been a member of the UASC, which is the umbrella body of shipper councils in West and Central Africa, for decades, Head of Freight and Logistics at the GSA, said it was yet to hold any executive position, something she said was one of the motivating factors behind the country's bid.

"We also saw it as an opportunity for an English-speaking country to become the chairman. For a long time, we have been having French-speaking countries as chairmen but we think it’s now time for us the Anglophone countries," she added.

She was also optimistic the current position would spur the country on to put up a candidate for the executive secretary position of the union, explaining that such a candidate could either come from the Ministry of Transport or the Shippers' Authority.

"Wherever the person is coming from won't be an issue. The key thing is to get a Ghanaian into that position. If we are able to get it, I think it will help enhance the image of the country," she added.

Ghana has been a member of the reporting and standing committee on transport and trade committees of the union and Madam Owu explained that its current position meant that it resigned from the former.

It will, however, remain a member of the standing committee on trade and transport, she added.

She also explained that the Shippers' Authority, which is the umbrella body of shippers and related service providers in the country, will leverage the current position to benefit the industry in the country and the sub-region at large.

"We will use it to put the views of shippers in the ECOWAS sub-region across to the council and hope that they will be heard and addressed," Madam Owu added.