Mixed reactions have trailed the proposal by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to commence registration of providers and users of port services in all the nation’s seaports.
While the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) explained that registration of port service providers operating in the nation’s seaports will help the government in policy formulation for the good of the sector, some stakeholders argued that it represented additional costs.
These positions came to the fore yesterday at a seminar organised by the Shippers’ Council for stakeholders on the registration exercise.
The Nigerian Shippers’ Council is the Economic Regulator of the Ports.
Espousing the Council’s position and the rationale behind the registration, the Director, Legal Services at the Council; Mr Samuel Vongtau, who stood in for the Executive Secretary; Mr Hassan Bello, said that information provided during the registration will help the regulator formulate policies for effective economic regulation.
Vangtau maintained that the registration will also provide statistics for efficient regulatory planning, adding that through the processes, the regulator will be able to know the number of service providers operating within the sector, especially, "the type of services they provide and the users of such services".
He added that the registration exercise will bring sanity to the port environment and reduce congestion.
"Especially to our port environment, registration will bring sanity and reduce congestion. Once the service providers are registered and known the number of people entering the port will be reduced. Congestion will be reduced drastically as only the registered service providers will be given access to the port environment. This will lead to increased efficiency in service delivery", he stated.
The Director also said that the registration will also help the government to make projections with degree of certainty.
"Knowing the players in the ports, in terms of numbers and types of businesses they are doing, financial projections will be made easy as experts would easily know what the sector can generate from the types and number of businesses", he added.
He consequently mandated all service providers to proceed to register without delay, even as he added that defaulters will be denied access to the port.
Meanwhile, some stakeholders who attended the event responded with skepticism. They maintained that registration is not healthy for port operations, adding that it will only add to the numerous levies already being paid by providers and users of port services.
A representative of the shipping companies, Mr. Ohizu Vincent, said it is an additional cost to shipping lines, even as he stressed that it will discourage indigenous shippers.
"This is cost addition to what the shipping lines are going to incur. And my question is like this, what are the criteria set aside to corroborate this payment. You have asked some to pay different payments and you have given the bulk of the payment to shipping agencies. Looking at what Nigeria is today, are we trying to encourage indigenous shippers or bringing them down because with such charges, it will be difficult for indigenous shippers to make these payments and still renew this charge"
Also speaking, the founder of the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders in Nigeria (AREFFN) Dr. Frank Ukor, pleaded with the agency to reduce payments by practitioners.
"Are you adding to the cost of doing business? When you look at all these monies they are coming from the same purse. So I think you people should look at all these things, we are feeling the pains" he said.
Also speaking, the First Vice Chairman, Freight Forwarders Trade Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI); Alli Shobande, urged the council to ensure that it concentrates more on regulations than revenue collection, as there are so many charge already existing in the sector.
"We are already burdened with too many regulations; there is NIMASA, NPA, NCS, CRFFN and the rest of you. They should look at the process where it should be more of a regulation than revenue collection", he said.
The registration fees which range between N1,000 and N100,000 is payable by Cargo consolidators, Dry ports Operators, Freight forwarders/Clearing agents, Hauliers, Inland Container Depot Operators , Off-Dock Terminal Operators, Seaport Terminal Operators, Shipping Agencies/Companies/ Lines , Stevedoring companies and Warehousing operators
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