Mr Jerry Ahmed Shaib, CODA Chief Executive
Under the implementation of the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme, the Coastal Development Authority (CODA) is exploring developing partnerships with expatriate enterprises in the development of the coastal zone (IPEP).
This was revealed when the Authority’s Chief Executive Officer, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, met and spoke with the Korean Ambassador to Ghana, Jung-Taek Lim, in Accra.
The exchange between the CEO and the ambassador revealed a wide range of potential areas for collaboration between CODA and the Korean public, commercial and non-profit organisations.
Mr Ahmed Shaib encouraged Mr Lim to help CODA and Korean investors form partnerships to undertake the CODA Clean Beach Campaign, CODA Drive Electric, CODA Seabus, and CODA Salt Mining programmes.
“CODA is committed to forging public-private partnerships in our quest for accelerated economic and social development of the Coastal Development Zone of Ghana as envisioned by the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,” he said.
The Korean Ambassador affirmed the commitment of the Korean Embassy in Ghana in partnering with the Authority in the implementation of the one million dollars per constituency programme. Specifically,
He assured the CEO of support and collaboration in the areas of investment, sanitation, technology, and transport.
IPEP
IPEP is a government policy, a flagship of the Akufo-Addo government that allocates one million dollars to each constituency for special infrastructure projects and social interventions. Projects are determined through stakeholder engagement and bottom-up needs assessment process.
CODA leads the implementation of IPEP in 109 constituencies in the six regions that make up the Coastal Development Zone.
Pilot implementation is currently underway by CODA and partners to devise a sustainable mechanism to keep beaches in Ghana clean through the CODA Clean Beach Campaign which involves waste management, recycling, community-led advocacy, and a public education campaign.
Social interventions programmes
CODA Drive is a social intervention that offers commercial drivers and motor riders to own their own vehicles in a two-year hire purchase agreement.
The first tranche of 200 vehicles was distributed in 2021 and was oversubscribed. The Authority seeks to improve the service with the introduction of electricity-run vehicles.
CODA Seabus is a planned water transport service intended to ply the entire coastline of Ghana to facilitate timely, cost-effective, and safe transportation of people goods and services in the Coastal Development Zone.
The initiative, when rolled out, is expected to significantly boost employment, trade, and tourism with a positive resultant effect on livelihoods, families, and communities to promote economic and social development.
In line with its mandate to ensure prudent use of natural resources for development, CODA will soon outdoor a salt mining project to take advantage of the economic potential of salt deposits at the coast to create income-earning, business, and development opportunities for coastal communities.
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