The Coastal Development Authority, (CODA), met with over 500 porters in the Greater Region.
This came off on Sunday, 4th October, 2020 at the head office in Accra.
The programme was to empower the porters to enable them make ends meet through skills acquisitions and training.
The porters who were drawn from the Tudu, CMB, Agbogbloshie and Makola markets were also taken through a special health screening exercise.
The CEO of the Coastal Development Authority, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, speaking after the event reiterated the importance of his outfit to provide sustainable livelihood for Ghanaians.
“It is a community driven project that is to ensure that they are given the career development platform, that they will not forever remain in the kind of job we see them engaged in. We dont think that is best for them , we think that wherever they found themselves is not as result of their own intentions and plans but perhaps because of maybe loosing a mother or father or being misdirected or misinformed that when you come to Accra, there are greener pastures.
“So we found it necessary that apart from the president’s initiative of pushing each and everybody who wants to go into secondary school free of charge doing so, we also feel that is the same president who directed us under the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP) to put in structures that will empower these people. Identify them, take their data let them understand that, that is not all.
He added that CODA will partner other entities in order to train the porters.
“So what we are doing is to partner an NGO that is ready to give us a whole lot of support with reference to vocational training. They are giving us how to make beads, how to make soap, how to work in salon, to learn how to be a seamstress, how to do manicure or pedicure and provide us with a whole range of skills.
The CEO, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, disclosed that his outfit will consume the bills of the training of the porters.
“What CODA is here to do is to support them by paying for their training and beyond the training, the CODA credit union will also provide a start up support to the porters,” the CEO revealed.
He again stated that, their target is to train over 100 porters in the empowerment skills acquisition program.
“Our target is to train at least 100 porters in the program even that will give us satisfaction that out of about 1000, 100 people started their vocational training this year, if next year we have another 100 we are making in-weights, and if within next year we are able to get about 1000 people that will be a boom. So really, our target now is that let even 100 people start, let us convince them that you don’t have to be a porter for life, let them understand that you can be an owner of a big salon.
“Yes, criteria is availability, you must be available that you are willing and able to go through the vocation. If you are able to do that I am more satisfied, so if we are able to get a whole lot of people coming on board it will be helpful,” he added.
The Coastal Development Authority also donated of about 500 quality aluminium basins, sanitary items and other products to the porters.
