Cameroon hands over management of RMU to Gambian counterpart

June 15, 2022

The 27th session of the Board of Governors of the Regional Maritime University (RMU) convened on 10 June 2022 in Accra, Ghana and was marked by the handing over of the management of the institution. After two years of good and loyal service in a challenging context marked by the Covid19 pandemic, His Excellency Jean Ernest Massena NGALLE BIBEHE, Cameroon's Minister of Transport, handed over the baton of administration to his Gambian counterpart, His Excellency Ebrima SILLAH, Minister of Transport, Works and Infrastructure of the Republic of the Gambia. In passing on the baton, the Cameroonian Minister wished his counterpart luck in taking the RMU flagship to a higher level for quality maritime training in the service of regional integration in West and Central Africa and the promotion of the blue economy.

The highlights of the session included the adoption of the accounts for the year ending 31 December 2021, sensitisation of Member States on the settlement of their overdue contributions to the institution's budget, and the intensification of campaigns to promote the RMU in Member States in order to attract the greatest number of students, to approve the steps towards the renewal of the ISO certification, to confirm the appointment of a Deputy Director in charge of Administration and Procurement, to reiterate the need for a succession plan in order to avoid a vacuum when people retire, to set the 28th session of the RMU Board of Governors for November 2022 in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

On the sidelines of this session, the University organised a prestigious graduation ceremony for 486 laureates of whom about 15 were Cameroonian on 11 June 2022. For the 2022 academic year, the university has enrolled no less than 1530 students, including 53 Cameroonians. The Minister of Transport met with the RMU Cameroonian community after the graduation ceremony to congratulate the laureates and encourage Cameroonian students in other disciplines. He also promised addressing their concerns regarding the speedy delivery of seaman certificates, mediation for the issuance of medical certificates in Ghana, the quick delivery of passports, assistance in the search for internships and job offers, and the multiplication of initiatives to attract young school children to maritime careers.