A five-day regional training course for auditors under the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS) is under way in Ghana.
The training course, which started Wednesday, is being attended by participants and representatives from Nigeria, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Sao Tome & Principe, Sierra Leone and Seychelles.
The purpose of the IMSAS training, the organizers say was to help IMO member states to ascertain the extent to which they (member states) are going to discharge their responsibilities with respect to the implantation of the IMO instruments.
The IMO, over the years, had adopted a number of international instruments which countries are expected to ratify and implement with the view to ensuring the application of global uniform standards that will eliminate “substandard shipping ” and “promote quality shipping operations.”
Addressing the participants, the Director of Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Transport, Siisi Ocran, said the instruments are meant to ensure uniformity and prevent unilateral actions, which could bring about “unfair competition” in world trade.
The IMO’s work as the specialized United Nations (UN) agency for maritime matters was to develop instruments and guidelines for maritime safety, security, vessel source pollution and the facilitation of maritime transport.
The IMO Audit Scheme, he added must, therefore, focus on ensuring these responsibilities, especially among developing countries with “limited resources.”
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