Efforts by the government to ensure safety and ease of doing business on the Gulf of Guinea is receiving a boost from development partners.

The move is expected to attract some level of investments into the West African maritime space with low levels of crime.

With funding from the Japan Government, a one year programme is being organized by the United Nations Development Programme and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center for some selected West African nations to boost the capacity of crime control officers onshore.

The Gulf of Guinea is one of the critical corridors across the world as a result of factors including the oil and gas sector.

According to the United Nations Development Programme, the strategic location also makes it a major trade route for the export and import of food items, humanitarian assistance and manufactured goods.

The training is part of a series of contributions by both the UNDP and the KAIPTC to control crime on maritime operations and thereby reducing the cost of doing business on the Gulf of Guinea.

Head of Conflict Management Programme, Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research at KAIPTC, John Mark Pokoo  expressed confidence that the programme will enhance security on the corridor, thereby attracting lower risk of insurance which will go a long way to help shipping lines.

“The issue of security in our waters is very important to the cost of living because you know many of the things we consume are being imported and when the maritime corridor is not safe, it will influence the cost of things we import which will affect the cost of living”

Resident Representative for the UNDP in Ghana, Dr. Angela Lusigi in an interview told Joy Business that combating maritime crime is part of a development agenda due to its impact on investment.

“We approach maritime concerns as a developmental issue because of its importance to not only coastal communities but the country as a whole” she noted.

In recent years, the region has become an area of interest for maritime crime especially piracy, oil bunkering, illegal fishing among others.