He said the open oceans, also known as the Exclusive Economic Zone, boasts a number of economic activities which, if well managed, could contribute immensely to Ghana’s economic growth.

He said over 80 per cent of the world’s known and estimated hydrocarbon reserves were found in the ocean, noting that in Ghana new oil exploration works were yielding new oil finds which could soon put Ghana among the oil giants on the continent.

“The ocean has and will continue to form the basis for livelihoods, food security and economic development for littoral states,” he said.

Mr Darko made the call at the opening of the 15th course on Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Management and Operations at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) in Accra last Monday.

He also called for Ghana to ensure that there was accountability and supervision of its maritime domain with regard to safety and security-related activities, especially in the EEZ, which, in Ghana’s case, constituted an area of 200 nautical miles over which the country exercised exclusive rights for exploitation.

Maritime operations

The course, which is taking place over a one-week period, is expected to expose participants to the key essentials of maritime-related operations, improve regional collaborations and deal with potential threats to maritime activities in the sub-region.

It is also expected to make stakeholders aware of the enormity of the resource potential of the open oceans and the requirements for monitoring and control of the EEZ.

The participants attending the course are from the various security services and maritime-related agencies in Ghana and their counterparts from other countries in the sub-region.

Mr Darko said there was the need for Ghana to pay more attention to economic activities in the open oceans than land-based economic activities.

He said even though the country’s efforts to give attention to economic activities in the open oceans were usually hampered by inappropriate institutional designs, organisational cultures, poor institutional coordination and lack of resources, there could be improvement if there were clear strategic directions that could be articulated in an appropriate policy framework.

“Our efforts should be guided by international conventions and codes of practice, such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) integrated maritime strategy; that is, the Maritime Security Act, 2004, among several others,” he said.

Course relevance

He said it was in that regard that the EEZ course model was very relevant and appropriate, considering the challenges the country faced in the maritime zone, adding: “The course has been designed to ensure a more professional and holistic understanding of EEZ operations and management by all stakeholders.”

“Maritime threats are dynamic and will keep evolving every day. The policies that address these threats should, therefore, be appropriate and apt. Those policies should be created and filtered by highly trained men and women like you who are inspired by Ghana’s safety and security improvements,” Mr Darko added.