The Executive Management

The Marketing Department
The Administrative Department
The Operations Department
The Study and Litigation Department
The Financial Department

SOBEMAP is a State-owned company with a monopoly on the handling operations of the conventional traffic at the Cotonou Port.
SOBEMAP therefore has two institutional characteristics

• It is a public-owned company
• It is a monopoly

The Memorandum and articles of Association of SOBEMAP were approved Decree No. 89/336 of 29th August 1989. It is a corporate entity with financial autonomy; it conducts its activities in a commercial way within the jurisdiction of the common law. It is subject to the same duties, rights and taxes as private companies.

Because it is a national company, its memorandum and articles of association were drafted in conformity with the provisions on Law 88/005 of 28th April 1988 on the creation, organisation and functioning of public companies and parastatals.

With regards to the principle of autonomy, SOBEMAP enjoys the same rights granted to the company management bodies by the law and by the memorandum and articles of association: the Board of Directors and Executive Management.

According to the memorandum and articles of association, the Board of Directors, apart from members that are "Observers" (who have no voting rights), is composed of seven (07) Directors  appointed by Decree, based on the proposal of the overseeing ministry, for a period of four years renewable: they are distributed as follows:

• Two (02) representatives of the Ministry of State in charge of the Coordination, Prospection and Development of Government activities.
• A representative of the Ministry of Works and Transport who is the Chairman of the Administrative Board. 
• A representative of the Ministry of Economy and Finance
• A representative of company employees elected by the staff (the Secretary General of the Union)
• Two representatives of a customs officers' association - APRAD (Association Professionnelle des Agr��s en Douane)

Attention must be drawn to the fact that the Board of Directors is the highest decision-making body whose members have all the power to act on behalf of the company. (Above)

The Executive Management is responsible for executing and monitoring the decisions of the Board. It defined the general policies of the company and coordinates its activities. In addition to the Technical Department, four Divisions are directly under the Executive management. They are:

- The Internal Audit Division

- The Computer Division

- The Supplies Division

- The Transit Division

The Internal Audit Department is responsible for the control and verification of operations undertaken procedures used, reliability of data provided, and the preservation of the company's assets. It also works with the Technical Departments to provided them with all the assistance they require to accomplish their missions.

The Computer Department is responsible for the automatic processing of information generated by the management system of the company. It is also involved in monitoring the computerisation of information generated by the approved executive plan.

The Supplies Department is responsible for providing the company with supplies, movable and office materials.

The Transit Department created in 1997 das part of the policy to diversify the activities of the company just before the container handling sector was liberalised, is responsible for fixing custom duties and lifting goods for both SOBEMAP and third parties.

In the execution of the tasks assigned to them, the Executive Management of SOBEMAP had recourse to assistance from six (6) other Departments including: 

1- The Administrative Department

this Department recruits, trains and retrains permanent, contractual and occasional staff of the company. It is also responsible for settling labour disputes and for managing office supplies and social works. 

It includes: the Personnel Division, the Professional Training Division, the Social Works Division, the Litigations Division, and the Economics Unit which is directly attached to it. ( Above )

2- The Marketing Department

This Department is responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the marketing policies of the company. It coordinates the activities of two (2) Departments: The Sales Department and the Marketing Statistics and Economics Department. (Above)

3- The Operations Department

the objective of this Department is to monitor the handling operations at every stage (loading and off-loading of ships), reception, storage and delivery of goods within the port. It also oversees the operations of the goods handling machines.

It coordinates the activities of 2 sub-Departments and a Unit in charge of vessels' security and computerisation which is directly attached to it, called S�curit� Affaire Domaniale et Informatisation des Navires (SADIN). These are  :

3.1- The Conventional Traffic Sub-Department
It takes care of most of the loading, off-loading, non-containerised goods delivery operations; i.e. bulk goods (clinker, sulphur, wheat �.etc)  and conventional goods (bagged goods, scraps�.etc) .

It includes five (5) Units including the hangar 1, hangar 2, hangar 3, hangar 4, and hangar 5.

3.2- the container traffic sub-Department
it handles all the loading, off-loading, containerised goods delivery operations.

It is divided into three (3) Units: hangar 6, hangar 7 and the Container park Unit.

3.3- the Material sub-Department
It takes care of the maintenance, servicing and management of SOBEMAP's handling equipment and machines. Apart from the Technical Studies Secretariat, it includes three units, which assist it in performing its tasks. These are: The mechanic workshop, the Stock Management Unit, and the Engine Operations Unit. ( Above )

4- the Studies and Litigations Department ( Above )

The main mission of this Department is to ensure the application and respect of the laws regulating maritime transport and port handling; it studies and answers the claims of customers, insurers, ship-owners or their representatives; it represents the company by giving its opinions on various issues and in its areas of  expertise ; it processes civil, penal and commercial files affecting the life of the company in advance. It is sub-divided into two (2) Units: the Studies and Traffic Unit and the litigations Unit.

5- The Financial Department ( Above )

this Department is responsible for organising accounting and financial functions and for the company's management control. It prepares and executes the company's budget. It is made up of 3 Units: the Finance Unit, the Accounts Unit and the Budget and Management Control Unit.