Women are urged to join Maritime Industry.

By Eleuteri Mangi-MAELEZO

Women have been encouraged to join the Maritime Industry through facilitation in education and training which is fundamental for advancement of women in the sector.

These have been said by the Director of Safety and Environment Management in the Ministry of Transport Ms Tumpe Mwaijande on behalf of Permanent Secretary Ministry of Transport Dr. Shaaban Mwinjaka to the members of the Women in the Maritime Sector in East and Southern Africa (WOMESA) during the opening ceremony annual general meeting yesterday in Dar es Salaam.

Quoting the speech of former Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) when he was addressing at the World Maritime University in April 3, 2008 and read by his Vice President Mr. R. G. Jones he emphasized the importance of women integration in all levels of political, economic and social development.

Vice President Mr. Jones quoted “Both International agreements stressed that equality between women and men is a human right concern and that empowering women ensures the development of a sustainable and equitable society- no society can reach his goal without taking the productive goal of women and their economic and educational empowerment into account”.

Ms Tumpe said she quoted those words to the members of the meeting to be taken into consideration during their four day discussions on how to build a sustainable platform which will sustain women participation and prosperity in maritime sector beyond 2014.

On her side the Senior Deputy Director, IMO Technical Cooperation Division Ms Pamela Tansey said that the aim of WOMESA is to promote women’s access to quality employment in the maritime sector through education, training and career opportunity.

“National chapters have the responsibility to show young girls that there is an opportunity in maritime sector in order to increase the number of members to their association” said Ms Pamela.

The association for Women in the Maritime Sector in East and Southern Africa (WOMESA) was officially launched on December 2007 where members are drawn from 24 countries within the region.

This year annual general meeting which is taking place in Tanzania for four days is facilitated under sponsorship of Tanzania Port Authority (TPA), Dar es Salaam Institute Tanzania (DMI), National Social Security Fund (NSSF) in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International Maritime Organization (IMO).

In Africa, countries which are members of WOMESA includes Angola, Sudan, Namibia, Lesotho, Comoros, Uganda, Somalia, Mauritius, Eritrea, Botswana, Swaziland, Rwanda, Madagascar, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Burundi, Seychelles, Malawi, Djibouti, Zimbabwe and the host country Tanzania.