By Benjamin Adamafio Commey, GNA
Accra, July 4, GNA – Mrs Dorcas Affo-Toffey, the Deputy Minister of Transport, has urged the newly inaugurated Joseph Kweku (J.K.) Horgle Transport and Logistics Centre at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), to champion digital transformation and innovation to enhance the competitiveness of Ghana’s transport and logistics sector.
She said the centre should place digital skills, research and environmental sustainability at the core of its teaching and training to prepare professionals capable of driving technological advancement in the industry.
“Artificial intelligence, GPS-enabled fleet management, predictive maintenance, digital supply chains and sustainable transport solutions are no longer ideas for the future. They are today’s reality,” Mrs Affo-Toffey said at the launch Centre on Thursday.
“Ghana cannot afford to remain merely a consumer of these innovations. We must become creators, adopters and leaders in this space.”
Named after the owner of one of Ghana’s leading Petroleum Haulage Company, J.K Horgle, the Centre is expected to, among other things, develop a highly skilled workforce, generate evidence to support policy formulation and promote innovation to strengthen Ghana’s transport and logistics sector.
It also sought to bridge the gap between academia, industry and government through executive education, professional certification, applied research and industry collaboration.
Mrs Affo-Toffey described the Centre as a strategic partner for the Ministry and expressed its readiness to collaborate with UPSA in policy development, regulatory reforms, executive training and national capacity building.
She said the launch of the Centre was timely as Africa’s logistics market continued to expand under the African Continental Free Trade Area, creating growing demand for highly skilled transport and logistics professionals.
Mrs Affo-Toffey said the Ministry expected the Centre to serve as a hub for professional training, problem-solving research and stronger collaboration among academia, government and industry, while promoting areas such as transport operations management, cold chain logistics, corridor compliance, defensive driving, axle load compliance and low-carbon logistics.
The Centre would also help to address long-standing skills, data and coordination gaps in the transport sector by producing research to support evidence-based policymaking and equipping professionals with competencies required to meet emerging industry demands, she said.
She encouraged it to work closely with agencies such as the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority (DVLA), the National Road Safety Authority and the National Petroleum Authority to ensure its programmes remained aligned with national transport priorities and regulatory requirements.
She commended UPSA for the initiative and encouraged transport companies, petroleum marketing firms, development partners and financial institutions to support the Centre through internships, scholarships, research funding and professional mentorship to ensure its long-term success.
Professor John Kwaku Mensah Mawutor, Vice-Chancellor of UPSA, said the establishment of the Centre was in response to a long-standing national need to professionalise Ghana’s transport and logistics workforce and strengthen collaboration between academia and industry.
He said it would undertake research, develop industry-focused literature and deliver programmes that would support the growth of the logistics sector, while creating opportunities for students and professionals.
The Vice-Chancellor noted that Ghana was well positioned to become the logistics hub of West Africa, particularly with the AfCFTA Secretariat based in Accra, creating growing demand for expertise in transport, warehousing, freight forwarding, customs brokerage and supply chain management.
Prof. Mawutor also announced plans for the Centre to introduce executive programmes and research initiatives in specialised areas of the industry, while revealing a partnership between UPSA and the DVLA that would enable students to receive driver training on campus before graduation.
He urged students to equip themselves with practical, digital and entrepreneurial skills, saying employers were increasingly looking for graduates who could solve problems, analyse data and leverage technology.
He also assured stakeholders that UPSA would ensure the Centre remained sustainable and achieved its objectives.
Dr Joseph Kweku Horgle, Founder and Executive Chairman of J.K. Horgle Transport and Company Limited, described the naming of the Centre after him as a great honour and said it reflected his lifelong commitment to building a transport industry founded on integrity, professionalism and safety.
He said it represented the fulfilment of his vision to elevate professional driving to diploma-level training, adding that safety must remain a shared responsibility across the transport industry.
“Safety is not a protocol. It is a shared commitment to zero, ensuring every worker returns home safely,” he said.
Dr Horgle said professional drivers were the backbone of every economy and called for driving to be recognised as a respected profession supported by formal education and internationally accepted standards.
He said through continuous education and rigorous training, the Centre would contribute to improving road safety and producing highly skilled transport professionals to enhance industry growth.
GNA
EDited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Reporter: Benjamin Adamafio Commey
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