It appears that the minister of transport, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman is in love with task forces and committees and he is giving the ad-hoc creation of the military era all the attention, so much so that he now relies on them to get things done.
Considering the fact he has limited time, the idea of using committees and task forces may not be as bad, except that it may amount to duplication of efforts and a waste of resources, especially as findings of previous committees are usually abandoned.
The ministerial committee on port charges has since concluded its work and no one seem to have an idea of what is next, yet another has commenced work.
There is a link between the task force on port charges and the current one on review of port concession and the sooner stakeholders start seeing the two as such, the better.
Just like we commended the minister when he constituted the task force on port charges, we also commend him for the step to review port concession. But we dare to ask: What can the minister do with the report of the committee when it is eventually submitted its report? What has become of the outcome of the efforts of the previous committee?
When the task force on port charges was constituted, there were promises that its recommendations would be tabled before the Presidential economic advisory team for adoption. So what is the assurance that the committee on port concession will be nay different.
We also wonder why the minister is taking on too many things at the same time, when he can concentrate on one or two issues that can be handled without having to set up a committee.
Rather than dissipate energy and resources on reviewing port concession, the minister should have led the lobby for the passage of the all-important Port and Harbour bill which has been with the lawmakers for more than one year and for which a public hearing and a stakeholders’ meeting has been held.
For God’s sake, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman effectively has less than six months to function as minister of transport, that is, if the time table for next years elections as released by the Independent National Electoral Commission is anything to go by. Unless he has assurances that he will remain as minister of transport under the next dispensation, he may end up being a rolling stone which gathers no moss.
Not many stakeholders gave the minister any chance of being able to make sufficient impact; essentially because of the short time that he has. And this was one of the reasons why majority of Nigerians called for the appointment of round pegs in round holes; that is giving ministerial nominees portfolios that are relevant to heir professional background.
Needless to remind the minister that the maritime sector has always been a hotbed of conflicting interests; owing largely to the complexity of the sector. A few examples will suffice here. The relationship between operators of the port system namely: NPA, the terminal operators, shipping companies, freight forwarders is yet to be well- defined, hence the need for the Port and Harbour Bill and not necessarily a committee whose recommendations may not go beyond the office of the permanent secretary.
Outside the port system, perhaps the most important issue that the minister should have concerned himself with is the failure of implementation the Cabotage Act which became effective in 2003 and which is already due for review. The law was enacted to offer job opportunities for Nigerian seafarers by increasing Nigeria’s tonnage via indigenous acquisition of ships. He law was also enacted to boost maritime infrastructure development including ship building and repairs.
Rather than grapple with what to do, the minister who had stint at the then-National Maritime Authority (NMA) should have concentrated on some elements of the Cabotage Act. A holistic appraisal of the implementation of the Act will reveal that certain critical aspects have been largely untouched; about seven years after the Bill was signed into law.
We are very pessimistic about the impact of the committee’s assignment and the value it can add to the minister’s profile. The time is too short to pursue a mission of this magnitude. He ought to hit the ground running, but we are afraid, he is acting as if he has all the time.
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