BREAKING NEWS, Business
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STAKEHOLDERS in the maritime sector have decried the inability of the Nigeria Shippers Council, NSC, to live up to its expectation as the ombudsman of the ports given the prevailing problems still confronting users of the ports that informed its appointment as a regulator.
According to the stakeholders, the prevailing unhealthy operational environment at the nation’s ports which instigated the establishment of the Nigeria’s Shippers Council, NSC, in the face instance are not only still thriving but have deepened to the extent that the nation’s maritime sector. They stated that the port has been losing patronage over the years because of high charges, inefficiency and lack of transparency by terminal operators.
Prominent maritime players and analysts have in recent times expressed concern over the prevailing high cost of doing business in the Nigeria ports, which underlines the argument by many that the NSC has failed in its objective of bringing down cost of clearing goods in the nation’s ports.
Boniface Aniebulam, founder, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF, is disappointed that the NSC has not been able to address the issue of high cost of doing business at the ports. “The essence of port reform was to achieve competitive cost of doing business, port administration and management. However, at the inception of the concession, it was expected that there would be a 30 percent reduction in the cost of doing business at the ports. But 10 years after, the cost of doing business is still unbearable.”
Lucky Amiwero, national president, Council of Managing Directors of Customs Agents, said Nigeria missed it from the onset when the ports were concession without requisite regulatory body. According to him, one of the consequences of such omission is the loss of cargo to ports of neighbouring countries because the cost of doing business in our ports is high.
For Olisa Agbakoba, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, and maritime lawyer, his position is that the 10 year-old concession regime in the nation’s ports has failed in its original objective of making Nigerian ports cost effective. He reiterated that the cost of doing business at Nigerian port is still the highest in the world and that it had remained so 10 years after the ports were concession because of the absence of an effective regulator.
Otunba Kunle Folarin, chairman, Port Consultative Forum, said the objective of port concession was to reduce cost of doing business at the ports, increase productivity, as well as conserve public fund. Although he admitted that there has been significant increase in productivity and infrastructural development but that the cost of doing business has not reduced thereby underlining the fact the appointment of NSC as a regulator has also not achieved the desired objective.
For instance, investigation shows that before the ports were concession, the first six days of demurrage attracted a fee of N95 per day for a 20 feet container but was increased to N900 per day. Again when the demurrage enters the second phase of six days, under the NPA the importer was to pay N250 daily but the amount shoot up to N4, 200 under the terminal operators. Apart from the demurrage, findings also revealed that personnel of the terminal operators often fleeced importers of amount ranging from N30,000 to N50,000 as gratification to get their containers position upfront for express examination to avoid paying requisite fee.
Another area the high port charge manifest which operators frowned at is the storage facility charges. Clearing agents accused terminal operators of increasing storage facilities from N4, 000 to N8, 000 per day for 20 foot container and from N8, 000 to N12, 000 for N40 foot container. The maritime players are also uncomfortable with the number of free days allocated for demurrage and storage facilities which they argue is far shorter than what is obtained in other countries.
The NSC was established in 1978 through The Nigerian Shippers’ Council ACT to addressed the activities at the nation’s ports which was characterized by deteriorating quality of shipping services and unmitigated increases in Ocean freight rates by foreign ship owners who operated scheduled liner services to Nigerian ports.
Its functions as prescribed by the 1978 ACT included ensuring efficient and timely delivery of shipping services to the importers and exporters by the shipping services providers under the most economical arrangements, moderation and stabilization of costs (freight rates, port charges, local shipping charges, haulage charges), creation of adequate understanding and know-how amongst the various practitioners in international trade both at the macro and the micro levels and provision of regular and reliable advice to the Federal Government on matters affecting the shipment of goods to and from Nigeria.
However, as time went by the functions of the agency as prescribed by the 1978 ACT was strengthened with the 1997 ACT which empowered it to regulate local shipping charges on import and export and to negotiate the charges in the interest of operators.
— Jul 22, 2016 @ 14:18 GMT
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