Nigeria chooses SA to train aspirant harbour pilots

RAY SMUTS
A GROUP of eight – the first of 34 aspirant Nigerian cadet harbour pilots to receive their training in Cape Town - was hosted by the National Ports Authority recently, as part of an initiative to train Africa’s maritime industry from within the continent itself. The cadets will receive training at the South African Maritime Training Academy at Simon’s Town, after which they will spend a few days gaining practical experience with the NPA’s maritime services division in the port of Cape Town. Habib Abdullah, deputy general manager, training, for the Nigerian Port Authority, says personnel were previously sent to Britain for specialised training but that African solutions were now sought in the spirit of the Nepad partnership for growth in Africa.