A Single window expert has enjoined Nigeria to adopt the Single Window platform for cargo clearing in the country, stressing that with the country’s sheer size and strategic position, it was the elixir needed to move the Nigeria forward.
A Single window expert has enjoined Nigeria to adopt the Single Window platform for cargo clearing in the country, stressing that with the country’s sheer size and strategic position, it was the elixir needed to move the Nigeria forward.
A Ghana born British citizen, Valentino Mintah made the observation in Abuja recently, pointing out that with the nation’s stupendous maritime endowment, the Single Window may in fact be what the Government has been waiting for, to eliminate sharp practices, revenue leakages and boost the nation’s march towards full compliance with international best practices.
“The Single Window (SW) is a tool for creating an enabling effective environment for our importers, exporters and agencies that are involved in international trade to make a simple, fast and cost effective choice, in the course of moving their goods from one country, across the border into another country” she indicated.
She also observed that the cost of initiating the measure was minimal, once the right model was identified and chosen, as the authorities could either go for a purely Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT), donor model or a combination of the options, so as to ensure that the country begins to enjoy its widespread benefits on time; adding however, that it was good that the legal environment in Nigeria allows a PPP; which could be one of the most cost effective options.
Mintah posited that while the issues of creating awareness and understanding may appear as major challenges, the solution could be found if special efforts were adopted to to let everyone understand what the SW is, as a national agenda, and that it is a program that would benefits everyone, beginning from the decision makers to the importers and exporters and the agencies that support them in the international trade, alongside the private sector stakeholders, as well as the consumers who utilize the goods or services within the whole economy.
“Every aspect of the program is a challenge. Moving cargo from point ‘A’ to ‘B’ would no doubt involve documents processing as probably not being practiced before. But you also have to move the goods back and forth in the ports, which mean you, must equally talk of infrastructures too. And since you will have to move your goods on the road; when it leaves the ports; that in itself also takes you to the issue of not only road, but also your rail, and your river ports where available, etc. so, the SW is essentially all about infrastructures.
“The country is also going to need enhanced telecommunications, (IT) which would enable the documents I spoke on earlier move freely from place to place.
So, you have the documents, and the physical goods; and this is the way the whole SW programe must fit into a whole vision of the trade facilitation agenda. It would not be run in isolation. So, once we are looking at the SW implementation, there must also be another group who would be looking simultaneously at the infrastructural challenges on ground; with the aim of tackling such problems, which may include the reduction of illegal bottlenecks on the roads.
“There would be no point in achieving all the benefits that come with being able to clear the goods in 24 hours, if you cannot take them to your warehouse on time because the roads were now blocked as a result of so many containers having to leave the ports simultaneously!
“So, we must understand that if we are able to speed up on the documentation time, then more goods would be ready to leave the ports; and this may also result in a new build up of bottlenecks either in the ports or on the roads. If we managed to speed up the process, then we must also consider what could happen thereafter too. That way, you may not have goods languishing either in the ports or on the roads. This is what makes the road as the transportation link becomes so important.
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