Nigeria may lose the hosting right as the Headquarters of Regional Maritime Development Bank for West and Central Africa, unless urgent action is taken by the Federal government to provide the necessary financial commitments essential for the bank’s take-off
There are indications that other countries within the sub region are also eyeing the opportunity of hosting the bank.
Nigeria may lose the hosting right as the Headquarters of Regional Maritime Development Bank for West and Central Africa, unless urgent action is taken by the Federal government to provide the necessary financial commitments essential for the bank’s take-off
There are indications that other countries within the sub region are also eyeing the opportunity of hosting the bank.
This has also been confirmed by a source close to the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), which initiated the project, he disclosed that an essential delay is the lack of the all-important the pre-incorporation funds.
According to the source, Nigeria may also lose the immediate benefits if the headquarters is taken away to another country.
“MOWCA was waiting for Nigeria to appoint financial and legal consultants and make sure the secretariat is opened,’’ the source said.
He added that Nigeria had not provided the pre-incorporation funds which would form part of its equity contributions to the bank’s project.
“The rents for the two properties leased in Abuja by the Federal Ministry of Transport for the secretariat and transit guest houses would soon expire after two years of non-utilisation,’’ the source said.
The source said since the inception of the present administration, no action had been taken on the regional bank project.
He said all necessary approvals had been secured for the take-off of the bank, but nothing was being done.
“The approvals for Nigeria to host the banks’ headquarters came through the 13th General Assembly of MOWCA in Dakar, Senegal in July 2008, it also had the Late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s approval in February 2009; and the latest resolution of the 14th General Assembly of MOWCA on August 2011 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
“All the resolutions and approvals had given credence for the take-off of the bank,’’ he said.
The bank’s project “is a sub-regional initiative supported by multilateral agencies like World Bank, African Development Bank (ADB) and European banks’’.
MOWCA had made initial contacts with the agencies, adding that the agencies were waiting for the take-off of the bank’s secretariat to work with MOWCA and take the project to the next level.
The bank would go a long way to generate funds at very good conditions for the services of Cabotage Act and the Local Content Act.
When fully off the ground, the regional bank would increase purchase of vessels by indigenous ship owners who would be able to lift crude and refined petroleum products.
“Is a purely business bank for the development of the maritime industry.
“All these lack of monies to buy vessels, no ship building yards, inland container depots (ICDs), no green-fields development, deep seaports, fishing trawlers and other projects would be facilitated by the bank,’’ the source said.
According to him, the bank has multiplier, socio-economic benefits for wealth and job creation.
The idea to establish the regional bank was mooted at the Bureau of Transport Ministers’ meeting in Angola in 2005 and Nigeria agreed to host the headquarters.
The source added that the bank would be like other development banks like inter-American Development Bank; and Asian Development Bank.
MOWCA was established in May 1975 as the Ministerial Conference of West and Central African States on Maritime Transport (MINCONMAR) and the name was changed to MOWCA as part of reforms adopted by the General Assembly of Ministers of Transport, at an extraordinary session of the organisation held in Abidjan from Aug. 4 to Aug. 6, 1999.
MOWCA unifies 25 countries on the West and Central African shipping range, including five land-locked countries).
The objective of MOWCA is to serve as the regional and international community for handling all maritime matters that are regional in character.
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