NEW NPA AMENDMENT BILL ENTERS CRUCIAL STAGE

The much expected Nigerian Ports Authourity (NPA) amendment bill has cruised into the crucial stage as the House of Representatives fixes June 17 and 18 for a public hearing on the bill.  

The NPA was set-up by the Nigeria Ports Authority Act of 1955,but the Act was  amended during the military regime in 1999 and since then, attempts have been made to review the law and make it to be in consonance with the agency’s new status as a land lord in the ports.

It will be recalled that the Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Hon Emeka Ihedioha had assured on October 28, last year at the public presentation of the “Contemporary issues in maritime industry” that the legislators had not dumped the bill and that it would soon be tabled again and that work would soon commence on it.

Shipping Position Weekly confirmed at the weekend that amendment bill when passed into law will address critical concerning port concessioning and also block the lacuna by providing expressly for concessioning.

Stakeholders and port concessionaires have expressed worries that the present NPA law does not adequately provide cover for the transactions leading into the concessioning of the nation’s sea ports. 

A copy of the draft amendment bill which was sighted by our correspondent revealed that proposes to increase the directorates in the Authority to reflect its role as a harbours authority and also fine-tune the fiscal provisions of the Ports Act.

It also hopes to empower NPA to acquire land for port purposes, by purchase, in order to beat the land allocation constraints contained in the land Use Act and empower NPA to promote and regulate private port developments, as well as off-dock facilities.

Other are to: give NPA additional responsibilities as a remover and receiver of wrecks, limit governmental agencies operationally resident at the ports to Customs, Immigration and Port Health, hence addressing multiplicity and duplicity of such agencies at the ports and their attendant negative bureaucratic influences.

The document also reveals that the bill will recognise the recent declaration of Brass LNG as a port area and also update the fines and penalties provision in the Act in addition to introducing conflict of interest provisions to the schedules, among other provisions.

The Bill has, after the second Reading, been referred to the House joint committee on marine transport and justice and in preparation for the forth coming public hearing.

The hearing is expected to assist the committee on marine transport to obtain stakeholders’ input as well as expert advice that will lead to a veritable legislative instrument. 

A diverse spectrum of stakeholders, including  Ministry of  Transport, Customs, NPA, other maritime regulators, port terminal operators, seafarers and dock-workers, unions, maritime lawyers, maritime journalists, maritime financiers, shipping companies and entrepreneurs, off-dock facilities are expected to attend the hearing.