Concession port scanners to speed up goods clearance, SIFAX boss tells FG
The Group Executive Vice Chairman, SIFAX Group, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi has called on the federal Ministry of Finance to consider concessioning the use and management of port scanners to push ease of doing business.
He relied on the success recorded during the introductory time of the scanners when its use was at the highest level with excellent service delivery.
However, at the end of the concession, the management was transferred back to Customs who according to observations failed to manage it well.
Represented by the Executive Director, SIFAX Haulage & Logistics Limited, Major Henry Ajetunmobi (rtd), Afolabi urged the government to deepen the involvement of the private sector in the country’s transportation industry in order to improve the level of efficiency in the sector.
He said this at the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce’s Advocacy Roundtable with the theme, “The Role of Concessions in Fixing the Transportation Sector” held in Lagos.
According to him, concessioning remains the most practicable options available to the Federal Government in its bid to address the debilitating infrastructural challenge in the industry.
“The current economic reality makes it clear to all that the Federal Government cannot solely address the infrastructural deficit in the country’s transportation sector. This deficit has negatively affected service delivery and ultimately, its contribution to the economy. This is the right time for the government to concession critical infrastructure in the sector, especially at the seaports.
“Of utmost importance is the scanning service. Most scanners at the ports are either completely broken down or functioning well below installed capacity. This situation has subjected the Nigerian Customs Service and other agencies to a hundred percent examination of cargoes, which does only waste time but also more favourable to the smugglers, too. We have waited anxiously for the scanners and it is not forthcoming. I want the government to consider concessioning the scanning service to investors as this will really make the port reform system more efficient.”
