• NASS Insists on Port and Harbour Bill
If what is coming in from Abuja is anything to go by, the Port and Harbour Bill may never see the light of the day.
Even though the National Assembly has vowed to see the much-delayed bill through, feelers from the ministry of transport indicate that the ministry has reopened talks with the ministry of justice and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) for the controversial National Transport Commission (NTC) Bill.
Of course, the minister confirmed this development at no other event than last week’s meeting of the National Council on Transport, where he told transportation officials from all the 36 states of the federation and the FCT that, " the Federal Ministry of Transport in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has been fine-tuning the Transport Sector Reform Bills for onward transmission to the National Assembly to provide the appropriate legal framework that is supportive of increased private sector partnership."
The transport sector reform bill incorporates the NTC, which itself is a holistic body providing broad supervision for the ports, road and rail transportation.
But, sources close to the marine transport committee of the two chambers of the National Assembly hinted our correspondent last week that the move is not new to the legislature.
Similarly, a member of the committee in the lower chamber pointedly accused the ministry of transport of insincerity in the Port and Harbour Bill.
“How many times are we going to hear this NTC talk, this minister has been talking about that Bill since he was appointed, yet there is nothing. At our end as lawmakers, we are going ahead with the Port and Harbour Bill, you remember, it is a private member bill by the deputy speaker and our chairman”, he stated.
He also recalled the various attempts to ensure that the Bill was passed during the sixth session of the National Assembly. “Each time we make progress with the Bill, the minister will bring up the NYC issue, how long are we going to continue like this. The maritime industry blames us for the perceived delay, but it is not our fault”.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that in 2011, at an Inter-ministerial and Agency Retreat on the harmonisation of the transport sector reform bills, the minster had agreed that even though a lot of inputs have already been given on the Bills by stakeholders as well as the concerned agencies, there is need to at this time "take a final look at each Bill and agree on their essential features and provisions".
Confirming the new synergy with the BPE, the minister had told the retreat which was also attended by chief executives of agencies under the transport ministry that: "I am sure we all agree that certain sectoral changes are necessary for sustainable development. I therefore call on all participants at this retreat to make constructive input to the draft bills with a view to harmonising our positions. We must produce laws that are in tune with current realities, laws that will stand the test of time and have the desired impact for the benefit of the economy and the wellbeing of all Nigerians".
Shipping Position Daily confirmed that the transport sector reform Bills were prepared by the BPE under the auspices of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) and they include: the National Inland Waterway Bill, the National Transport Commission Bill, the Railway Bill, and the Road Sector Reform Bill.
Our findings revealed that, the Port and Harbour Bill would have been passed by the National Assembly, but for some disagreement with NPA in some sections of the Bill, especially the section that deals with financial autonomy for the agency.
While NPA’s position is that it should be allowed some degree of autonomy in areas that concern acquisition of key equipment for its operations, the National Assembly insists that all revenue collected by the NPA must be deposited in federation account and must be appropriated before they are expended.
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