Reduce agencies operating in ports to 4, not 6 for efficiency, importer tells FG
Leading importer and chairman of Standard Group, Chief Maurice Bada has called on the federal government to reduce the number of agencies operating in the nation’s ports to only four from more than eight they are now.
He said the major cause of corruption in the ports stem from multiple government agencies who duplicate roles and function in the clearance of imported goods.
According to him, “Ease of doing business at ports can only abate if the number of federal agencies hovering at ports are pruned down and the functions of surviving ones clearly stated with marked borders of operations”.
He queried “Why can an importer get his good cleared and given clean bill only to be impounded on the way of the container to the owners’ warehouse?
Only recently, the Federal Government gave an indication that it is currently working towards streamlining the number of agencies operating in the nation’s ports to only six from about eight.
The idea came from the decisions reached at an expanded meeting of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) presided over by the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja recently.
A statement from the council’s secretariat said an approval was given that a national action plan be implemented across its three priority areas of entry and exit of goods; entry and exit of people; and government transparency and procurement over the next 60 days to deliver tangible changes for Small and Medium-scale Enterprises in Nigeria.
PEBEC statement said “The reforms are to be implemented by the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat, which became operational in October 2016 and has Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment as its coordinator”.
“The Council was also briefed on the forthcoming EBES stakeholders’ engagement forum scheduled for Kano and Lagos on February 23 and 24, respectively. The forums are part of steps being taken to receive feedback and ensure widespread adoption of the PEBEC reforms.
“One of the reforms to be implemented to ease the process of starting a business is the upgrade of the CAC online portal to ensure document upload capabilities that will make it possible for new businesses to be registered online from start to finish without having to visit the CAC office.
“Also, work is ongoing to streamline the number of agencies operating at the nation’s ports to just six. Council also listened to updates on the proposed Single Window Initiative at the ports, which is expected to become operational by Q4 2017.”
The Council also observed that the visa on arrival and 48-hour visa processing procedures of the Nigeria Immigration Service were already operational with various levels of compliance.
The Council further noted that “In addition, PEBEC will work with the National Assembly to pass important bills like the National Collateral Registry Bill and the Credit Bureau Services Bill, which would ease access to credit for SMEs.
