By Godfrey Bivbere & Victoria Edema

Recently, the Acting Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Hassan Bello, spoke with Vanguard on a range of issues including the problem of arbitrary charges faced by Nigerian importers/exporters, direction of the Council under his leadership and more.

Excerpts:

2013 budget has been passed into law, how will the budget affect shipping business and Nigerian Shippers’ Council?

This year’s budget if analysed, underscores the seriousness which government attached to the maritime industry. The Federal Government has made landmark decisions, very important economic decisions, and this will translate into realisable projects. The transport system of any society or a country reflects the seriousness of such society or country to the development of its economy. So, transportation is very important to the development of the country.

The Federal Government is using transportation to emphasise its seriousness about international trade and those pointers or indicators are the entry points. Nigeria seaports are now competitive; they are in the process of being the preferred ports by importers not only in Nigeria, but also in neighbouring landlocked countries. This is a process that started many years ago and the fruits of that process will be enjoyed by Nigerians and are being actually enjoyed by Nigerians.

You will also notice the rehabilitation of the railways for the carriage of passengers and goods. The railways have been comatose for a very long time but the government, which is aware of its responsibilities, has started their rehabilitation and this is a milestone. So, the Federal Ministry of Transport has been extremely active in trying to link transportation with the economy. As a matter of fact, the government has seen the importance of transportation so much so that there is a taskforce on port reforms, which is headed by Prof. Precious Monye.

*Hassan Bello

It is also anchored by the Finance Minister and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala. The Minister of Transport, Idris Umar, is always in Lagos trying to make the port access roads accessible. What they have been working on is the port access roads.

If our ports are linked by good roads and rail and even inland water ways, then the evacuation of cargo from the port to the ultimate destination of the consignee will be superb because that’s the way you rate a port. When this happens, there will not be congestions.

The port should not be a place where you store cargo. We will have a port that would measure up to international standards. So, what I am trying to say is that government is making concerted and conscious effort to put transport in its right place.

We also have the issue of Inland Container Deports (ICDs), which will soon come into operation. The Federal Ministry of Transport has issued appropriate legal framework for the operations of these dry ports. These ICDs are supposed to solve once and for all, the perennial issue of port congestions. So, overall, I think there are three issues. One is to place Nigeria strategically as not only a partner, but an important and serious member of the world economy as far as transportation is concerned.

This is because things are being done in accordance with accepted practices and international standards. Secondly, what is happening in the transportation industry is the diversification of the economy from oil to other sources. With the ICDs, we can promote export of non-oil commodities so that we don’t become a mono product economy, relying only on oil and gas.

Thirdly, there is employment content. In all these things, the railway will employ many people; the port will similarly employ people, including the ICDs and the waterways. The transportation of goods through the inland waterways will create diversification into other transport models where they will not only rely on the roads. This will also create appreciable level of employment for Nigerians.

What is your expectation for the Shippers’ Council as regards the budget?

Nigerian Shippers’ Council is part of the process; it is an agent of change. It is an economic agency trying to translate the overall plan of the Federal Government to transform the transport industry. So, the NSC is in the thick of it all. As you know, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council is both an adviser to the Federal Government and an economic regulator, in terms of tariffs and quality of service being rendered by service providers.

So, the NSC is in charge of the ICDs. For example, it is the parastatal that is in charge of the economic/commercial aspect of shipping and it has aligned itself with the wish of the Federal Government to make transport a foreign exchange earner and also a place where jobs will be created for Nigerians.

What is the Council doing about illegal charges by terminal operators?

We have called for reviews, and we have made considerable efforts in reviewing the laws of the Council. We have held series of meetings with shipping companies on the need to bring their charges down. Most of the complaints are that of high tariffs, high charges, storage facility charges, container deposit returns and others. Terminal operators and others who render services in this regard are fully co-operating with us.

We have been able to solve a lot of problems for shippers. We have received complaints from the operators too and that is the spirit of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council. We try to create the equilibrium, a level playing field. We try to make things work; we create harmony so that shipping will thrive because it is not only for the shippers that we are there, we are there for the operators as well.

We have had cause to receive complaints from operators, especially about shippers who have abandoned their cargoes at the ports or who have refused to clear their cargoes from the ports and we have taken action to correct that. So, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council is an arbitrator, it is a referee trying to make sure that there is a balance, there is a level playing field, there is harmony, and that there is an atmosphere conducive for operation of shipping and transport, so that these can be translated into economic gains for this country.

What is the Council’s position on M.V. Marevia that brought in e-waste?

I am constrained to comment on a case that is in court for obvious reasons, but let me generally say that Nigeria has enough agencies to handle such issues of importation of goods that are banned. We have many agencies and adequate penalties to handle that and I am sure that it is those agencies that have been able to thwart the importation of such banned and dangerous cargoes into Nigeria.

The role of Shippers’ Council is to educate exporters and importers on what to import and what not to and we have been doing that for a very long time. You may have such contraventions sometimes but like I said, Nigeria has adequate laws and adequate agencies to deal with that infraction.

What about the activities of shipping agents involved in the handling of vessels that bring in banned items?

Shipping has many aspects; it is not only the Shippers’ Council that oversees operations in the maritime sector. Like I have told you, we have many agencies like Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA), we have agencies even under the Ministry of Environment.

Then we have the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), we have National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), we have other agencies that are able to deal with importation of banned, dangerous or hazardous cargoes and I am sure they will deal with this.

It’s not everyday shippers import dangerous cargoes into Nigeria. These are exceptions but Nigeria has to be very careful so that we don’t become dumping ground for hazardous or dangerous cargoes. What Shippers’ Council does is to advise its members, the importers and exporters on what to import or export because there must be guidelines so that they will not import or export goods that are hazardous or dangerous.

In the area of exports, what advice do you have for Nigerians who intend to go into export?

That is a very good and valid question because that will be the focus now. We have to make our economy an exporting economy because we have the potentials, we have vast agricultural lands, we have chemicals and processed materials. Nigeria Shippers’ Council has collaborated with Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), banks and produce associations all over the country so that we will see how we can enhance the export of these commodities.

We even give information for shippers to use so that they will get markets for exports overseas. We have dealt with particular commodities like cashew-nuts, so that we have the quality, the packaging could be improved, including other similar products. The Leather and Allied Products Association was here just last week, so what we do is to work and advise the government to enhance or to expand this economy to include export especially processed products.

Nigeria will have to diversify its economy, it should not be an economy that relies on importation but also exportation
,and we have the potentials. The railway lines could be used to evacuate products and I have told you that the Inland Container Deports, ICDs or dry ports, one of the reasons they are being set up is for exports so that cargoes will be exported from there without the exporter coming into Lagos or any of the seaports. He can do his/her documentation from there.

What makes you so hopeful that the ICDs will start operation soon?

They will start operation very soon because the Federal Ministry of Transport has been working diligently to make ICDs work, we have one or two problems of appropriate legal framework. Some laws or regulations to be issued and the Minister of Transport has been on it and very soon, these laws will come out and the moment they come out, the concessionaires, because it was done under Private-Public Partnership (PPP), will start the construction of these inland container deports.

They are very important economic infrastructure and the government is conscious of the economic potentials of the ICDs as a catalyst for export. Also, they are important to curb port congestion, provide employment and stimulate economic activities because it is not only where you have an ICD that it will have impact on, but will have impact on integrating the world economy.

Why should Shippers’ Council be a regulator?

Let me correct the misconception about the Shippers’ Council. It is the industry that has clamoured for the transformation of the Council into a regulator and it is already carrying out some regulatory functions because what is a regulator or what does a regulator do?

What a commercial or an economic regulator does is to supervise quality of services. It should supervise the services; it should moderate tariffs so that prices of services are not decided unilaterally and arbitrarily. It should control the entrance and exit that is to decide who are those to be operators and how do they exit if they don’t perform their duties?

It is to create or to stop monopoly or abuse of dominant position in the market. There should be competition between operators and a regulator should also see that there is a level playing field so that there will be an equilibrium between the users and the providers of shipping services.

That is what a commercial regulator does. Now, if you look at it, there is an absence of that in the transport industry. It is not absent in telecommunication, it is not absent in insurance, it is not absent in commercial banking, it is not absent in electricity, it is only in transport. Why is it only in transport?

It is not to fix prices, it is not to disrupt the contract between the government and the concessionaires independently and take contract between provider and the users. It is to represent the interest of Nigeria, to represent the growth of the economy, to advise on investment on port to other transport infrastructure. So a commercial regulator is necessary because there is a vacuum in the economic regulation in transport industry

Does the NSC have the legal backing to do that?

Of course Nigeria Shippers’ Council is mandated by a 1978 Act to advise the government and to ensure the adequacy of transport facilities. It should assess the stability and adequacy of existing services and make appropriate recommendations. Now this stability and adequacy of services include service infrastructure and so on.

We are also to advise the government of the federation on structure of paid rates, availability and adequacy of shipping space, frequency of sailings, the terms of shipments, class and quality of vessels, port charges and the facilities, and other related matters.

The 1997 Act of the Nigeria Shipping Council empowers it to regulate local shipping charges on import and export and the law gives it the power to negotiate local shipping charges. Local shipping charges are what you have when you bring your cargo to discharge, then you pay shipping services for the clearance and so on.

For those who contradict the law, there are also penalties or consequences if you increase the charges. In consultation with the Council, you are liable to a fine or even imprisonment so what more laws will someone have to become the regulator? But laws are dynamic, laws must change because the practice of international shipping, trade clearance have changed from what it was in 1978 when Nigeria shipping council law was promulgated.

At that time, it was NPA that was still with us, they were the owners of the port, they were involved in the clearance, they were involved in everything but now all of a sudden, because of the dynamics of change, the Federal Government has concessioned the ports and that is even the more reason why these laws should come into effect but we are in the process of changing these laws so that they will be in line with modern practices but there is now a commercial regulator.

These charges are there in some terminals and the Shippers’ Council is on top of the situation. There are some terminals that are here with everything, some are very co-operative, some may bring some excuses but what I just want to emphasize on is that Nigeria Shippers’s Council is alive to its responsibilities. It has the backing of the Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of Transport to sanitize the arbitrariness of certain terminal operators.

So can you give us the assurance on how soon this can be addressed?

It’s an ongoing process. It is being addressed and within the next six months, you will see a lot of changes because the terminal operators are already cooperating with us.

What should Nigerian shippers be expecting by the end of the year?

You have to agree with me that even during the existence of the Nigeria Shipping Council, it has demonstrated adequate responsibility towards the discharge of its statutory duties. It is operating with not very strong legislation but Shippers’ Council has been very instrumental to the reforms in the port and in the whole of the transport sector.

It is made up of highly dedicated professional, well trained staff. The staff is extremely dedicated and I think they have made the impact. What we want is the consolidation and this is applicable to everybody in the transport sector.