Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has stressed the need to set bench marks for efficiency, appropriate pricing and enforce it to avoid discriminatory tariff for services in port.
the Executive Secretary of NSC; Mr Hassan Bello, gave the advice while delivering a paper on “Economic Regulation: the Panacea to the Challenges of Marine Transportation” at the Abuja Transport and Aviation Correspondence (ATACA) seminar which held in Abuja last week.
He said that lack of regulation gives room for unwholesome self-assertion, cartelization, arbitrariness, profiteering and exploitation.
According to him, economic regulation is an intervention by government to influence market behaviour of individuals and organisations in the private and public sector.
“Regulation also focuses on the key issues of pricing quality service and competition in the Marine transport subsector, the major items considered in port pricing are; cargo handling, cost of handling cargo must be tied to service.
“Cargo must move through port with less friction at a price, speed and quality that meets international best practices.
“Port dues and charges, excessive, high or discriminatory tariff for services must be avoided.
“ Port prices for dues and handling charges can make or break a port. The right prices can lead a port to prosperity and growth while wrong ones can guide it to inefficiency or even extinction,” he said.
Bello, however said that negative effects such as predatory pricing and price discrimination will be put under check through proper regulation.
He said that the mandate of NSC as port regulator is to provide guidelines on tariffs in order to guard against arbitrariness, reduce high cost of doing business and prevent inflationary effect on the economy.
He said that lack of a clearer and well defined regulatory framework and absence of a permanent economic regulator has significantly impacted negatively on port traffic especially port costs.
The NSC boss said the council has intervened in the reduction of container clearing fee from ?2,500 per container to ?1,500 with increase in free storage period from three days to seven days.
Bello said the council intends to deploy appropriate regulatory practices to sanitise the industry with a view to make the Nigerian ports attain enviable hub status for West and Central Africa.
Bello said all stakeholders in the maritime sector will have to get involved in the review of port concession for effective interconnectivity in hinterland.
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