The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Emilia Arthur, has called on participants at a National Stakeholders Workshop on Ghana’s Blue Economy Strategy to place strong emphasis on developing a clear, practical, and costed implementation plan.
According to the Minister, the success of the Blue Economy Strategy will depend largely on the quality of questions stakeholders ask during the planning process, noting that “only the right questions can elicit the right answers needed for effective costing and implementation.”
Madam Arthur who is also the Member of Parliament for Shama made the call at the opening of a three-day National Stakeholders Workshop on the Prioritisation and Costing of the Implementation Plan for the Ghana Blue Economy Strategy, held in Accra on Monday, December 15, 2024.
The workshop was organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, with support from the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and the Government of Norway.
She explained that the six pillars of Ghana’s Blue Economy Strategy—blue wealth, blue health, blue knowledge, blue finance, blue equity and blue safety—will guide deliberations over the three days. However, she stressed the need to translate these pillars into “practical, sequenced and costed actions” that can be implemented effectively.
“The questions we ask must form the backbone of a credible implementation plan,” the Minister emphasised.
Hon. Arthur, who is also the Member of Parliament for Shama, urged participants drawn from ministries, agencies, coastal and inland water communities, research institutions and field experts to move beyond traditional sectoral thinking and adopt an integrated national approach.
“Let us not act as isolated sectors but as an integrated national blue economy team. Our oceans and water bodies do not separate fisheries from transport or the environment from tourism, and neither should our planning,” she said.
She further encouraged participants to give attention to the institutional architecture of the proposed Blue Economy Commission, including its office structure, staffing, and the appointment of an Executive Director and governing Board.
The Minister expressed gratitude to AU-IBAR for its support in organising the workshop.
Dignitaries present at the opening ceremony included the Blue Economy Advisor at the Directorate of Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy of the African Union Commission, Ms. Linda Amornghor-Oje Etta Snr., and the Norwegian Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Dr. John Mikal Kvistad. Both reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the successful implementation of Ghana’s Blue Economy Strategy.
credit: senaradioonline
