Details: Profile of Edward Kofi Osei, outgoing Director of the Tema Port as he exits, he has 5 Masters Degrees

Share this

Mr. Edward Kofi Osei, the Director of Tema Port, has 35 years of professional experience in Corporate America.

Edward was a Partner at the law firm of Osei & Nelson in New Jersey and taught Corporate Law, Contracts and Taxation at Widener University. Before that, he wEdward orked in Senior Management position at Astra Zeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pepsi Cola and Kodak.

Edward has a BSc in Business Administration from University of Ghana and five master’s Degrees; International Business Management -Baylor University, International Affairs – Yale, MBA -Stanford, Juris Doctor of Law -Temple University, Philadelphia and LLM in Taxation – New York University Law school.

Politically, Edward Kofi Osei has proudly indicated his affiliation to the ruling New Patriotic Party having served two terms as Chairman of NPP – Pennsylvania. He also chaired the NPP-USA Fund Raising Committee for the 2016 elections.

Additionally, he served on the Legal and Constitutional Committee of NPP-USA, providing expertise and guidance on strategy and legal matters. He is the originator of a number of policy directives and initiatives in the party some of which were adopted by the Party as a whole to raise needed finance and generate enthusiasm for the party’s campaign.

In the run-up to the 2016 election, he mentored several candidates, developing and refining their messages and creating a blueprint for success adopted by certain constituencies in the Volta, Northern and Central Regions of Ghana. As chairman of NPP- Pennsylvania, Dr. Osei led the group to adopt Karaga Constituency in the Northern Region. He worked with the NPP Parliamentary Candidate and Executives and attracted resources for eventual victory.

Indeed, during the 2016 campaign, Dr. Osei was on the ground as Point of Contact in the Awutu Senya Constituency in addition to regular visitation to the Karaga constituency. The Ghanaian Diasporan community see Dr. Osei as a credible voice whose expertise, skill and intellect have been of great service to countless Ghanaians across the globe.

Edward Kofi Osei started work as the Director of the nation’s largest Port, the Port of Tema in April 2017 after been appointed by the President of the Republic, His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo to oversee the largest Port in Ghana.

Having returned from the United States with over 20 years working experience there as a business man and a lawyer, Edward Kofi Osei deployed his leadership prowess to attain significant and milestone achievements as the boss of the largest commercial Port in Ghana, the Port of Tema.

Since manning affairs at the Tema Port, the revenue of the Port of Tema increased by 24% in 2017 while turnaround time of vessels improved by 20%. And Under his leadership cargo throughput also increased from 14million tons in 2017 to 16million tons in 2018.

The Tema Port has also become the most attractive Port for Ghana’s landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger which led to an increase in Transit Trade by 23.8% in 2017.

During his tenure, Edward Osei facilitated an Increase in equipment and spare parts acquisition for the daily operational activities of the Port of Tema and significantly empowered staff and management to know and understand their customer requirements and how to satisfy clients of the Port and Port users alike.

During the working period of Edward Ose, government issued a directive for the Ports of Ghana to implement a paperless port clearance processes and a joint inspection of goods by accredited agencies. Edward Osei’s leadership role as the boss of the port of Tema rallied his managers and partnered his colleagues to undertake these exercises and ensured effective implementation of these policies without difficulties. As a result the paperless port clearance system and the joint inspections at the Port of Tema commenced as scheduled on September 1, 2017 and so far the attendant benefits to the Port and Ghana as a whole has been remarkably evident with increased revenue collection to the state, reduction in the time of clearing goods at the Port and relatively significant reduction in the cost of doing business at the Port of Tema.

Edward Kofi Osei effectively collaborated with security forces and customs to curtail fraud and pilfering at the port of Tema which led to over 80 diverted containers being seized. In boosting security, he maintained a 24hr effective mobile patrol system and improved lighting systems in the port to allow better night vision and visibility in the Port of Tema. He increased the total port coverage of CCTV from less than 70% to over 90% and improved physical security around the Port’s perimeter with the re-enforcement of concertina wires. He further improved sea patrol at the anchorage of the Port and embarked on significant training of security personnel with considerable motivation. All these efforts led to a reduction in the stowaway menace, piracy and pilfering in Tema Port to the barest minimum.

Edward Kofi Osei also adapted standard and best management practices while in office including what is described as bottom-up Budgeting Regimes, and interacted with management, staff and stakeholders including, customs, shipping lines, clearing and forwarding agents among others on regular basis.

Edward Osei also guided management of Ghana Dock Labour Company (GDLC), as Board Chairman, to formulate new policy directions for the company to improve efficiency of the main labour supply company in the Port. He also worked with Ghana Dock Labour Company (GDLC) Management to improve the welfare of casual workers through group/wage increase and safety compliance.

As board chairman, he aligned the Board of GDLC’s goals with GPHA goals and helped to improve the financial situation of GDLC reducing debt owed the company by Dock Labour Employers and also ensured that all statutory obligations were promptly honored. He reduced statutory debts owed by the company e.g. SSNIT, Providence Fund (PF) etc. by GhC3 million from GhC11 million for the benefit of the workers and instituted cost saving strategies to shore up GDLC’s financial accounts.

Additionally, Edward Osei introduced open door policy, suggestion boxes, on the spot reward for exceptional employees which has led to an increase in employee morale.

All these efforts by Edward Kofi Osei, his colleagues, team and management of the entire Port of Tema did not go unnoticed as the Port of Tema was awarded quite a number of corporate awards during his tenure as the Director of Tema Port.

The Golden Jubilee Terminal was named the Terminal of the Year at the Ghana Shippers Awards in 2018. The Port of Tema won the Best Port in Container Terminal Productivity and was also presented with an Incentive Award for the Tema Port Expansion project at the 4th African Port Awards and the entire Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority was adjudged the Best Port in Management Information System in the whole of West and Central Africa.

Source: BestNewsGH.com

 


Share this

Kennedy Mornah is an Award Winning Ghanaian Journalist with over two decades of experience in the Ghanaian Media landscape spanning the electronic, print and digital media. He is a Media Consultant, a Corporate MC, Radio and TV Host, Founder and Publisher of the Maritime and Transport Digest Newspaper, Businessman, a Go getter and an optimist. He has worked for renowned media organizations including Diamond Fm in Tamale, Luv Fm in Kumasi, Oman Fm in Accra and Starr Fm in Accra In 2017 he received the Reporter of the Year Award at the Ghana Shippers Awards in Accra, Ghana.

Leave a Reply

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.