BELLO: NTC WILL REVOLUTIONALISE NIGERIA’S ECONOMY
The TTP project is a modern transport infrastructure which aim is to ensure safety and security in the movement of goods from one destination to another. In what way will its success enhance the contribution of the transportation sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP?
For the TPP, we look at the employment content and the revenue local, state and the federal government will all have revenue from it.
The investors will also make their profit. We are going to give a lease for 35 to 40 years for investors. Anybody coming to Nigeria when they see our trucks parked like that they may be discouraged from investing. But when they see us in very stylish and productive way, that will be an incentive for them to come. So, the TPP has got extremely important lenders and investors. We have had many meetings with them. The state governments have been very helpful. They have given NSC land in Enugu, Lokoja and Sokoto because we are thinking of TPP in Layla along the Niger Republic border, which is what is also very important, and we are going to do that in many places. In Ogun state for example, there has been a tremendous interest. It is also the same in Oyo State. The truck transit park is a possibility and the moment we have that, our life is structured and our life is modern. Then there will be seamless transport system.
The thrust of the National Transport Commission Bill is economic regulation. This is also the main thrust of the NSC Act. For example, section 6 (1) (b) (C) and (H) of the NTC bill and section 3 of the NSC act 2004 have similarities of function. Why then is the NTC important?
The NTC has been passed by both Houses of the National Assembly. But there is a harmonisation committee of the two Houses working on it. But I think they finished working recently. Therefore, the bill will be brought to the two Houses for them to see if it was done well and if it represented various input and after that it will be signed. The reason for the similarities is historic: The NSC was setup in 1978 to be a regulator of the industry from the beginning.
The reason why it may not be emphasised is that government was handling all the transport issues such as the NPOs and other issues. If you look at section 2 of the NSC Act, it states that, “the function of the council is to liaise with appropriate arms of the government of the federation and other organisations in accessing stability and adequacy of existing services and make appropriate commendation on their behalf.”
We are also to see to matters of structure of freight rates, availability and adequacy of shipping space, frequency of sailing, terms of shipment, class and quality of vessels, ports charges and facilities, and other related matters.
Now, this is regulatory, we are also to consider coastal charges, inland water ways transport and generally relating to transport of goods. This gives us our regulatory functions primarily from beginning. It was a latent regulation, we were the same government, and the private sector was not there.
The issue is to enhance what shippers’ council does when the private sector stepped in. This was what happened when we were given the role of internal regulator. Therefore, there are similarities between the Shippers’ Council Act and the NTC Act, a lot of similarities.
This was why we said you cannot reinvent the wheel and we are happy that the both houses have resolved to make the council the nucleus of the NTC.
The main objective of the NTC Bill is to provide efficient economic regulatory framework for the transport sector, mechanism for monitoring compliance of government agencies, transport regulate the transport industry. This to my understanding will expand the scope. How prepared are you for this huge challenge?
We have been doing that even when we didn’t have express powers to do so and now we have the powers. We are really prepared. The council has the most trained staff in the industry. We have raised our capacity in regulatory issues especially in auditing of ports, auditing to see the efficiency of ports in terms of pricing and tariff mechanism. But you know the NTC is multi-sectoral, it covers all the ports, the roads, the rail and others. This is huge. What we do is to get the competence. This is why all the other agencies - Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), NPA, and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), all will have a stake in the NTC. The idea is to court people who are relevant in regulation and build capacity towards that. But automation is the ultimate thing. We are building the NSC council to be a paperless organisation. We are going digital and we are in the process of doing that to ensure that we are knowledgeable in the way the ports operate and the economy because that is the ultimate thing. If the bill is signed today, we are ready to take off and we will be able to discharge our responsibilities.
Despite efforts to curtail the excesses of foreign shipping companies, they still do not have regard for rules and regulations. For example, they have refused to set aside holding bays for their empty containers. What are you doing in this regard?
The rules and regulations were not spelled out in the NTC. It is not a ‘we’ versus ‘them’ thing. It is our duty also to protect the shipping companies and terminal operators because they are working in what could be described as an unhealthy and tough climate. Look at the roads issue for example, no matter how efficient a terminal is, how can they convey cargoes outside a shipping company when the infrastructure is not good. Government has been inconsistent for some time. I always argue that the case of Roro terminals that were lured to come and set up in Nigeria, only to have the policy of importation of cars that was enforced later and it affected their businesses. That meant they cannot fulfil their obligations in the concession agreement. So we look for the operators because the terminal and the shipping companies have changed the way we do business in Nigeria. In shipping, they have increased efficiency and made investment in the terminal and there is improvement in the turnaround time for ships.
However, we still have cumbersome clearing procedures which should not be the case. We should be automated so that people can clear their cargo from the port without going there. There are so many things we have to do and there must be reforms in freight forwarding.
I believe in consolidation of freight forwarding because freight forwarding is very important in logistics. We have to have tracking systems. The tracking system itself must be informed and I think that this is the next stage the NSC is going. The reforms have to be total and comprehensive. Therefore, for us to deliver a new port policy, there must be reforms and the NSC is already on that path. We want to clear our goods in a very good time in relations with our competitors. We are battling for Niger to have its transit cargo here. But they find solace in other climes because of the problems we are having here. So, we are trying to eliminate that and we are getting the cooperation of the NCS, which has been behind us. NIMASA, CBN, the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), NACCIMA, all of whom are members of the Board of Directors of the NSC. So, we are essentially economic regulators, we are not technical. The technical aspect is left to the various agencies there. We are concerned with the contribution of all these to the economy.
Also, stakeholders have accused the foreign shipping companies of insisting on the status quo because that is good for business. As the port economic regulator, what measures have you put in place to put them in check?
As an economic regulator, we have taken measures, you will notice some charges coming up to change what could be described as indecent practice. We have tried to curb those things. The shipping companies have to be ethical in the discharge of their duties. Here and there, something will crop up. For example, there are some terminals where it is wonderful to visit to see what is happening and there are those that are eyesore. For instance, they keep containers to attract demurrage and this is what we frown against because the port is not a storage place. Why we were doing that, the importers also allowed their cargos to dwell at the port because to them, it is cheaper than getting warehouse outside. We were the ones that introduced progressive storage charges because they will abandon their cargo there and it will bring congestion. In fact, cargo should not stay at the port for one hour, it should be on transit. So, you see there are both sides to a lot of things and the NSC is the umpire who coordinates everything. We have a view of what is happening in the port at any time and also, it is important that we talk to those shipping companies.
We have recently sealed one or two of them. What is more annoying is that they are doing what we banned them from doing. These are the black sheep among the shipping companies, majority of them have structure and system.
But stakeholders have also accused the Shipping companies of charging abnormal fees?
We have gone very far. The first thing is to look at these charges. If they are so many, we have to reduce and structure them in such a way, that everybody knows. The whole issue is transparency and these charges will be in the website of the shipping companies and terminals, so that investors, importers and exporter will know that what they will pay. So, everyone will know there are no hidden charges. Secondly, we have to give caps. We will not fix charges and say it is X amount you are going to pay, but within percentage one should not charge less than an amount and we should not charge above an amount. This allows for competition. Just like they have now, their charges are not the same. Some charge arbitrarily higher, while others charge lower to attract clients. That is how it should be, so when we do that you notice that shipping cost will come down. It is justifiable to increase charges and there are times when they decrease charges. Now, we have told them to decrease the port tax charge. We have told them to reduce it drastically by between 20- 25 per cent. This is just an interim thing we saw because these charges were imposed without recourse to NSC and they are all ready to do that. Then we sit down and ask for their justification. All charges must be tied to the service you are rendering. We cannot have fancy charges that don’t constitute anything.
We understand you are signing an MoU with the shipping companies on this matter, how true is this?
We are working hard on the MoU. I think by July, we would have signed the MoU. Negotiation is going on with the shipping companies; we must first of all talk to our principal, the Federal Ministry of Transport and the stakeholders (the shippers, the freight forwarders, the manufacturers, NACCIMA and others). We will have stakeholders’ engagement.
But some of these companies are still charging illegal fees?
I think it was the port and harbour that was involved. We understand they introduced royalty and they are no more charging that. If all the companies are doing that, they have no choice, but to refund because those are illegal charges. We have enforcement powers and we are maybe reluctant to use it because this is business environment. But we will never hesitate to do what is right.