ABUJA: Stakeholders have agreed that the maritime industry should operate for 24 hours to facilitate efficient cargo handling and delivery services to consignees. The stakeholders reached the consensus in a communique issued at the end of a one-day Town Hall Meeting on Cargo Handling and Port Charges organised by Publishers of Business and Maritime West Africa magazine. The communiqué said: “Pending the establishment of the proposed National Transport Commission or an appropriate regulatory authority, the Federal Government should set up an ad-hoc committee to verify and fine tune the current cargo handling practices and charges by terminal operators.
“The Federal Government must urgently evaluate the benefits or otherwise of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, as well as the level of implementation of the Common External Tariffs by ECOWAS member-states. “The Federal Government must have a rethink on the underlying philosophy of Nigeria’s trade relations with her neighbours. “There is need for regular stakeholders’ meetings where issues affecting the industry will be discussed.” The stakeholders said hostilities between port operators and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council should cease. They also suggested that extortion by field staff of government agencies must be checkmated. They said: “As done in Ghana in August 2016, Nigeria must immediately stop the practice of shipping companies and terminal operators invoicing consignees for Terminal Handling Charges. “Nigeria must review its application of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff.
“Nigeria must enthrone a system of effecting refund of container deposits within five days of submission of application, even as any limitation period for refund submission must be eliminated.” The stakeholders said the Federal Ministry of Works, Housing and Power must urgently fix all dilapidated ports access roads.They noted that all terminal operators should provide the required infrastructure as negotiated in the concession agreements. “Operators of off-dock terminals/bonded warehouses must upgrade their facilities, as a matter of urgency. “Nigeria must enthrone real-time Information Communication Technology inter-connectivity in the maritime industry to facilitate efficient operations. “There is need for Nigeria to adopt global best practices in the provision of maritime safety and security for safe and secured shipping in a cleaner marine environment.” The forum drew key stakeholders from both public and private sectors of the maritime industry, including various government agencies, organised private sector groups and banks.
