Business
Low Scanning Machines Utilisation Worries Customs
The Nigerian Customs Services (NCS) Area One command, Port Harcourt, has decried the low utilisation of the scanning machines used for cargo clearing at Port Harcourt port.
Recounting the processes involved in cargo clearing, recently in Port Harcourt when the Senate Committee on Finance, headed by the former Kaduna State governor, Ahmed Makarfi, visited the command the Area One Comptroller, D. G. Kaffi said that the scanning machine provided is grossly under-utilized due to non-patronage by importers.
Kuffi maintained that the major issue in the low utilization of the scanning machine is due to the fact that container vessels do not call at the port.
He said that Port Harcourt Port operates on bulk cargo, and that the highest number of trucks that have been scanned at the centre per day is 30, adding that this is relatively low in customs operations as compared to what obtains in other ports, especially Lagos.
The comptroller, however, explained that there are no discrepancies on the reports content and quantity of goods scanned, as the bulk cargo content is homogenous and the scanner captures it accurately.
“Right now, there is dull business operation because we don’t have vessels at the port,” he said.
The Senate Committee on Finance also has Senator Bukola Saraki, Clever Ikisikpo, Aloysius Etuk and Senator Gumba as members, and were at Port Harcourt port to ascertain the level of business operations at the port, as part of their over-sight functions.
Corlins Walter