Cosmas Ndimkora is Chairman of PTML chapter of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) in an exclusive chat with Shipping Position Daily correspondent Dapo Olawuni; Ndimkora expressed optimisms towards the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) that was recently introduced by the Nigeria Customs Service. He also talked about his intention to contest in the forthcoming elections of NAGAFF.
How has the year 2013 been?
All glory to the almighty for giving us life and the strength to carry on, the year 2013 was an admixture of the good, the bad, and the ugly, all together, certain aspects have been wonderful, there are some that are not really good, but all I know is that Nigeria has really moved ahead in 2013; in terms of volume of cargoes expected, it was higher that what was obtainable in 2012. Generally I will say 2013 was a challenging year, full of activities.
What are your expectations for 2014?
For 2014, we are beginning to put our house in order so that things will be managed by Nigerians, this is what we have been asking for, that in everything we do in the maritime sector there must be local content, we are clamoring for 50 percent participation, Nigerians are now taking charge of certain things, one of them is the PAAR, formerly it was managed by destination inspection agents, but now it has been handed over to the Nigeria Customs Service, what we want now is to encourage more investors in the maritime industry.
What is your opinion of PAAR?
PAAR is a friendly platform developed by the Customs, but it will require friendly officers of the Customs to start it, so that they can really make success.
What is your take on the extension of Web Fontaine contract to manage Custom servers, considering the frequent breakdown of the server?
We have talked about it, and when the Comptroller General of Customs came to Lagos, he was telling us that he has 1000KVA generators standby and that the issue of server failure will not affect PAAR, but the issue is not about producing PAAR, what about the other segments of the Custom service? Server is still a problem and a very big one at that, I have personally made a presentation to Web Fontaine and they kept on assuring us, but over a year now and we are still having the same problems, on Fridays of every week, there server is always malfunctioning.
Will this not throw a spanner in the wheel of PAAR?
This is the problem we are envisaging with the Web Fontaine involvement, but they are assuring us that they have what it takes to run the system successfully, so let us keep our fingers crossed and see how they go.
PAAR has started for some weeks now, how effective has it been?
For now, according to the APMT, we have received 58 applications for PAAR, out of this, 28 has been effected, we feel that if it can be coming out in two days it is still okay. The old RAR sometimes took one week to come out, so if the customs can take two days and we are able to get our PAAR, we are okay with it. In Nigeria, we always prefer military approach to issues, the Comptroller General gave out a circular that all goods on ground that were transferred to customs by the service providers, there are about 99,000 RARs that were not finished, the CG has said that there is no need to go and start afresh, so he gave them the concession, all that is required is correct declaration of the items or cargoes.
PTML as a terminal is becoming prone to protest, what do you think?
This is a terminal fashioned to be a community, there are meetings fortnightly where we look at issues affecting the community, we look at it and we find ways to ameliorate the challenges, but the issue of protest is based on congestion. This our work is based on fast clearance of cargo, whenever there is a little hiccup we are always impatient, even if you try to settle it amicably, you will see people that in order to get their cargoes out on time will not conform with what is actually on the ground. When I heard this, I went to the terminal and found out that Terminal Delivery Orders (TDO) were there, but the vehicles are not coming out, so I sent a strong worded message to the Managing Director of Grimaldi; Askani Russo, he replied me and took certain actions immediately, the next day tension died down.
PTML being a hub of vehicle importation, how will the government auto policy affect you in 2014, I see agents running out of jobs
No, I don't think so, we are middle men, we are professionals and we are registered, it is like you going to the court without a lawyer, nobody can do anything in the port without the freight forwarders, we will always be there, we are empowered to be there by an Act of Parliament, we are not just in the port for the sake of it, it is an Act signed by the President, but what we are saying is that when you are making new policy pronouncements, there are certain factors that needed to be checked. First of all, do we produce enough on our own that will go round before we ban, this is where we have our problems, in Ghana for instance, the older the vehicle, the higher the duty, this is to discourage people from importing junks to the country, but here now it is the other way round. In Ghana and Senegal, if your vehicle is old, the government will discourage you by placing high tariff, if you get to Berger now, there are vehicles there that nobody can buy, the policy is okay but do we have the manufacturing company and the assembly plant that will be able to give us vehicles as cheap as we want to buy.
We saw the case of Apapa command where the policy on rice affected it, stakeholders have expressed fear for PTML terminal
Like I said earlier, there are certain things government ought to have considered before rolling out the auto policy, they should make it a point of duty to sample opinions, not necessarily from the echelon, but from the people on the field so that we can give out first-hand information.
Do you think it’s right for Customs to collect the 1% revenue hitherto collected by the service providers?
Yes, it is their responsibility, they should get their 1%, I don't think it is right to remove the money from them, that is how it is done all over the world, even in Britain where their custom are in charge, they still take their percentage, it is internationally accepted and acceded to anybody that will produce that document. If customs is getting money from VAT, it is their arrangement with their parent body; it is not an international thing, it is just to encourage them, but the 1% is embedded in the law, provided it is the customs that is producing the PAAR, the one percent is their own.
This year, we are expecting elections into chapters of NAGAFF, will you be returning?
Yes, I do not really want to, but pressures are already mounting, so I had to agree and i decided to come back again.
Also, there are rumors that the NAGAFF high command is trying crown you next President of NAGAFF
I will be re-contesting as chairman, but as for being president, it is not a bad idea, but let's take it easy.
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