The management of the National Port Authority (NPA) has restored the functioning of its website after more than five years of dormancy.
A visit to the official site of the NPA early Thursday, September 15, 2022 showed visible refurbishment and new content creation to project the image of the institution. The redecorated site carries several sections, including a homepage, corporate, port services, investors and media service sections.
The National Port Authority said the website is part of a set of new digital platforms commissioned at the Freeport of Monrovia to “bolstering communication amongst trade stakeholders, government agencies and users of the sea ports of Liberia”.
“It is a formation of new and rebranded website and other social media platforms that are befitting of communicating developments at the sea ports of Liberia through documentaries, features, images and port-related news,” an NPA statement added.
The National Port Authority manages Liberia’s four seaports: the Freeport of Monrovia and the ports of Buchanan, Greenville and Harper.
Since 2017 its website has remained completely inaccessible in an age where digital technology has become the new frontier for ease of access to most public unities.
Remote access to information of government entities as embraced by all nations has been absent at the NPA, a key government institution which prides itself as the “gateway” to Liberia’s economy.
The NPA, which says it is dedicated to serving the public and raising needed revenue to help carry out public development, forfeited on this digital accessibility which is pertinent: government services accessibility to the full public, not just a few.
People have been wondering how the authorities have managed to regulate and control navigation within the limits of Liberia’s ports and communicate approaches to various port facilities, with mostly in-person interactions, costing more time and energy, even though the Freedom of Information Law calls for “proactive disclosure of information” in a timely manner through user friendly communication schemes like a website.
Clearly, the port found it difficult to disseminate nautical and other relevant information to ships and involved parties, especially investors and shipping companies outside of the country. For five unbroken years no one could log onto NPA’s website.
National Port Authority Acting Managing Director, Diana Nebo, according to report, is keen on improving the image of the port and boosting engagement and visibility since asked to perform the role by President George Weah.
Sources say she has mandated the Communications Department to ensure that the website, which has not been operational since 2017, is immediately restored with new and enhanced social media user friendly features.
Acting Managing Director Nebo is said to have contended that it was unacceptable that an ideal government entity like the National Port Authority lacks a functional website to allow its programs and services to be offered in a more dynamic, interactive way.
“She was embarrassed and said the situation would deny increased citizen participation in the day-to-day activities of the port, diminish convenience and speed in obtaining information or services, which people must have access to,” a source told the Hot Pepper.
The Acting MD is of the conviction that, when fully activated, the website will reduce costs in providing programs and information about port services, reduce paperwork and expand the possibilities of reaching new sectors of the sea port community or offering new programs.
Meanwhile, Nebo and her team have also undertaken a massive environmental campaign within the vicinity of the port to prevent potential environmental hazards and improve sanitary conditions at the port.