Heads May Soon Roll In NPA

Any moment from now, the much- expected shake-up in the Nigerian Ports Authourity (NPA) is expected to start, Shipping Position Weekly confirmed last week. Our correspondent confirmed that part of the mandate that was given to the new managing director when he was appointed in December last year was that he should carry out internal restructuring of the agency in line with  its status as a landlord port. Sources at both NPA and the ministry of transport confirmed that already the process is about to commence and that it will affect the general manager cadre where many of them have been found to have overlapping portfolios.
There are about 20 departments in NPA; each with a substantive general manager. Under the impending dispensation, the departments are expected to be rationalized to about 12.
Snippets indicate that departments like: administration, human resources, special projects, maintenance and the various engineering sub departments are likely to be affected.
Similarly, the existing western and eastern structures that have substantial general managers might be tinkered with. “There is really nothing that the general managers in each of the tow zones are doing that the respective port mangers can not do, its duplication, if you ask me”, a source at the ministry of transport told our correspondent last week.  Under the emerging dispensation, new departments are likely to be created to absorb the responsibilities of overlapping departments. “One general manager can take on the responsibilities of general manager in charge of human resource and also that of administration, all you need to do is to create a new nomenclature for him”, our source explained.
‘We can also create a monitoring and compliance department to take over the responsibilities of the general managers in charge of western and eastern operations” he disclosed further, even as he explained that he did not have the permission of anyone to divulge anything.       Our correspondent also confirmed that one of the constraints of the management that is slowing down the exercise is the effect that the restructuring may have on the staff.
There is problem with what to do with staff; especially those who are currently serving in the departments that are to be rationalized, a highly placed source in NPA told dour correspondent last week.