- Proposed amendment will make NSC more responsive
As the House of Representatives Committee on Shipping plans to hold a Public Hearing on the proposed amendment to the law setting up the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), maritime stakeholders under the aegis of Marine and Blue Economy Integrity Group has encouraged the legislative house to proceed with the requisite legal backing.
The group made this known in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Elder Asu Beks, outlining some of the benefits of the proposed amendments and reclassification of the functions of the Council to include; monitoring of compliance of regulated service providers, a regulatory framework for the effective and efficient economic regulation of regulated services and related activities to guard against arbitrariness.
Other anticipated gains include; promotion of the implementation of Government policies as they relate to the mandate of the Agency; creating an enabling environment for private sector participation in the provision of regulated services in Nigeria; promoting the implementation of relevant trade facilitation instruments to ensure seamless movement of cargo across trade corridors; automation and digitalisation of all cargo reception and handling processes and procedures; among others.
The group lamented that a significant portion of the annual losses are unaccounted for by the unfair practices of shipping lines through unilateral imposition of surcharges, high container deposits and unapproved levies by shipowners and carrier companies.
“Although the Council had always contested such impositions, its success has been limited by the absence of the legal and administrative framework for the challenges to be wholesome and effective. While this has been going on, there has several half-hearted efforts to remedy the situation.”
“We are convinced that with the proposed amendment, the Council will be a more responsible and responsive organisation in advancing and protecting national interest through curbing the rip-off of shippers in Nigeria by entrenched foreign interests,” the statement reads.
It, however, noted that due to the interests at stake, some entrenched groups benefitting from the exploitation of the indigenous shipping community have also activated their machinery to frustrate the proposed amendments.
“The challenge in the task of shielding Nigerian shippers from undue exploitation is that despite its touted job as the port economic regulator in the maritime and transport industry, the Nigerian Shippers Council presently does not have the legal framework to enforce the measures needed to sanitise the ppropriating and fair costing of shipping services and handling of cargo for shippers.”
“The Marine and Blue Economy Integrity Group earnestly pleads with the Honourable members of the committee to thread the path of righting the years of monumental exploitation of the national economy through the willful exploitation of shippers,” the group stated.
