…as Amaechi Says Single Window Platform Is to Take off Next Year
Bello, Shippers’ Council, ES/CEO
Strong indications have emerged that the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) would by the end of October this year reduce by 35 per cent , the cost of doing business in the seaport sector , in its capacity as the Economic Regulator of the nation’s Seaports.
The Executive Secretary/CEO of the Shippers’ Council(NSC) , Barisster Hassan Bello confirmed this development while speaking in a Maritime Stakeholders Interactive Forum organised by the Ministry of Transportation. The Minister , Rotimi Amaechi and the Minister of State , Gbemishola Saraki , heads of Parastatals under the supervision of the Ministry and other stakeholders were also present at the event .
This is as the Minister of Transportation , Rotimi Amaechi had assured that before the end of 2020, Nigeria would get a single window Platform
Bello who had assured that such level of costs reduction in the sector would be achieved next month , also appealed to the Seaport Terminal Operators of Nigeria (STOAN) to come on board to make the sector more competitive.
“We are actually competing with the cost and demurrage, and 35 per cent of the cost will be removed by next month,” he said.
According to him, there is the need to make the ports attractive, and government needs to improve on the infrastructure, while the private sector also plays its part.
He lauded the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for creating a truck transit park which had reduced the freight rate in the sector.
According to him ‘’ in Apapa for instance, with the intervention of NPA, by creating the truck park, things are a little bit easier now.
“Before, hiring truck from Apapa to inside Lagos metropolis to evacuate goods was about N800, 000, but now it is a bit cheaper,” he said.
It will be recalled that the Council had reduced the various charges of the shipping companies from 16 to five, while it has likewise been reviewing downwards, the sub headings of their tariff as the need arises .
The NSC , began the process of checking arbitrary charges in the seaport sector in the exercise of its power as an Economic Regulator in October29, 2014, when it reversed the progressive storage charges of the terminal operators and also directed shipping companies to reduce their shipping line agency charges from N26, 500 to N23, 850 per TEU (20-foot containers) and from N48, 000 to N40, 000 per FEU (40-foot containers).
The Minister of Transportation however noted that in 2016, the President gave approval for single window, as Nigeria was the only country in West Africa without one, assuring that before the end of 2020, the country would get a single window.
Explaining, he said single window was a facility that allowed parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardized information and documents with a single entry point to fulfill all import, export, and transit-related regulatory requirements
He decried the delay in the take-off of the 195 million dollars maritime security contract awarded to an Israeli firm, HSLI adding that the contractor had been coming up with excuses for the delay.
`This is not good enough because we are losing man hours, human beings and business to insecurity on our waters,” he said.
On the railways, Amaechi said that government had approved 5.3 billion dollars for the construction of rail from Ibadan to Kano and was working towards connecting the rail to the sea port between December and January next year.
He also said that there would be a collaboration between the Nigerian Ports Authority and the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to achieve efficiency, while more vessels would be bought.
On security, he said that they would be working with the army, navy and other security agencies.
He revealed , that 10 per cent of issues on the waterways had to do with recklessness.
Amaechi had also said that the Minister of State for Transportatio would personally be in charge of all maritime agencies while he would be overseeing the Railway sector.
Saraki, on her part, promised to work on issues associated with cadets having sea-time in Nigeria.
According to her, having chaired the Senate Committee on Marine Transport for four years, she has .an idea of what to do, but will take her time because of new issues like insecurity.
“We are going to look at the issues of cadets not getting sea-time. We are also going to look at the issues of ship registry and cargo tracking note.
“We want to know how many jobs the maritime sector will create,” she said.
Some stakeholders at the event said cost is driving shippers out of the ports, urging government to sustain its tempo of cost reduction , monitor excesses of its agencies especially with their charges as well as put inplace , an intergrated transport system to help unlock the maritime potentials in Nigeria.
