The review of the 2008 National Transport Policy is in its completion stage following a final national stakeholder's consultative workshop, held in Accra yesterday.
The draft policy, which covers roads and highways, railways and aviation, is expected to be submitted to Cabinet for approval.
After its 10th year of implementation, the policy was subject to review for the necessary changes to refocus it in line with changing strategic objectives and emerging issues in the transport sector.
Opening the workshop, Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, said the policy, which was developed in 2008, was to provide guidance for the holistic and strategic development of the transport and logistics sector.
This he explained would support the Ghana Gateway Project, designed to make the country a gateway to the West African sub-region to facilitate trade and foreign investments.
He said review of the 2008 transport policy was to critically assess the content and details of the policy as well as the efforts made since its inception for implementation.
Mr Asiamah said that, it was to identify gaps within the existing policy and planning framework, and recommend concrete actions that could be taken within an updated National Transport Master Plan to address them.
As part of the review process, the Minister said a wide range of stakeholders including Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), Civil Society Organisations, political parties, professional bodies, private enterprise foundation and the media, have been engaged to solicit their inputs.
Regional consultative and validation workshops have also been undertaken in all the 10 regions to solicit and validate inputs for the review process resulting in the draft policy, Mr Asiamah stated.
The Parliamentary Committees on Roads and Transport, Health, Education, Food and Agriculture, Poverty Reduction Strategy as well as Gender, Children and Social Protection, he said, have been consulted as part of the process.
The final consultative exercise was to ensure that individuals, groups, associations, professional bodies and the public make inputs into the draft policy and ensure that the concerns and transportation needs of all facets of the national economy were covered by the Policy.
Mr Alan Gilham, team leader of the consortium of consultants, said there were about 17 agencies in the transport sector currently which operate with different framework and planning strategies, resulting in complex planning.
He said, the review which commenced in July last year, was to assess the existing transport policy and its implementation achievements and challenges to develop a new policy that best addresses modern transportation problems.
In their interactions during regional consultations, Mr Gilham stated that the team found that most transport facilities had been abandoned and must be rehabilitated.
Deputy Team Leader, Kwesi Abbey-Sam said the new policy would ensure transportation for all, improve public and private investment in the sector to make Ghana a transport hub.
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