THE country's image at the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA) will be enhanced after the appointment of a Tanzanian to head the association.

The association works to build a consensus on key issues as the "voice of the region" and promote the economic, social and environmental well-being of the ports in the Eastern and Southern African region. Mr Franklin Mziray, a long serving Tanzania Ports Authority Corporate Communications Manager has been appointed the PMAESA Secretary.

Announcing the name of the new secretary, PMAESA's Chairman Tau Morwe, who is also the Chief Executive of Transnet National Ports, said he will be based in Mombasa, Kenya.Mr Mziray emerged successful in an interview at the PMAESA Secretariat in Mombasa this January. He has since retired from TPA.

In his acceptance, Mr Mziray promised to give the member states value for their money, saying he intends to provide the association with a new and dynamic management and leadership.He is taking over from Mr Jerome Ntibarekerwa of Burundi who served as PMAESA's Secretary General for a period of seven years, until last November.

The other candidates were Mr Sam Andrade, once along serving as PMAESA Treasurer and Chief Executive of Seychelles Port Authority and Mr David Kema, a retired Director, Department of Maritime (Ports and Shipping) and Inland Waterways, Ministry of Communications and Transport, Zambia.Mr Mziray was born in December 1952 in Moshi and is married with three children. He went to St. Andrews College Minaki for Cambridge School Certificate, then to Milambo Secondary School for the National Form Six School Certificate.

He later joined University of Dar es Salaam where he attained Bachelor of Arts in 1977. Mr Mziray has had professional training in several institutions including JICA, Tokyo, Japan between 1974 and 1975 where he did an Intermediate University Diploma in Film Production. The PMAESA was first established as the Port Management Association of Eastern Africa, in Mombasa, Kenya, on April 1973, under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).