Maritime stakeholders call for improved services at ports

AS Nigeria continues to celebrate its election into the council of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), stakeholders have called for vigilance on the activities of service providers in the clearance of cargo from the nation's seaports.

They said the bottlenecks being created by service providers in the clearance of goods at the ports may make the election into the council pale into irrelevance, adding that their activities which are creating delays may lead to congestion that could make the port environment unsafe, a major condition for membership of the council.

The stakeholders' position is coming on the heels of complaints by the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Elder Jacob Buba, providers of the software for implementation of the Automated Systems for Customs Data (ASYCUDA++); Web Fontaine and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for their "untoward" attitude to the implementation of the Destination Inspection Scheme in Nigeria.

Speaking during the stakeholders' forum few days ago at the Customs Comptroller General Conference in Sokoto, Buba blamed the two organisations for most of the problems bedeviling the Destination Inspection scheme and for the delayed clearance of goods from the port system.

Buba said their posture indicated that they were not ready to add value to the Nigerian economy besides profit making.

The Customs boss, however, added that despite this "untoward attitude" by these organisations, the 48-hour cargo clearance initiative is still realisable. "This is not the spirit behind engaging your services in this country," Buba said,

He continued, "you people want to finance this project from the money you are making here in Nigeria without any foreign direct investment. It is very sad".

Buba said that most of the problem being encountered in the implementation of the destination inspection scheme is because the service providers have refused to bring in necessary funds to invest in the project.

"This was done and the outcome of that retreat enforced the decision of the Nigeria Customs Service to adopt the 48-hour cargo clearing theme for this conference. The tone of the conference has taken a new dimension as two of the five days have been dedicated for a thorough in-house assessment and valuation of the procedures and modernisation structures being put in place. When I say in-house, I mean Nigeria Customs staff along with all the service providers. I am certain this will yield the desired result of ensuring that the Nigeria Customs truly understands and appreciates its strategic role in trade facilitation with 48-hour clearing as a key factor in this regard," he expatiated.

Source:RamblerNews