Maritime Expert Bemoans Absence Of Commercial Ports Regulators

Chairman of Ports Consultative Council (PCC), Mr Kunle Folarin on Wednesday decried the absence of a commercial regulator in the ports, saying its consequences were enormous.

Folarin told newsmen in Lagos that there was no gain in a ports concession regime without regulation.

He said that port charges had soared since the ports concession exercise in the absence of a regulator to fix benchmarks on charges.

Without a commercial regulator, we cannot achieve the optimal gains of concessioning.

“One of the cardinal objectives of ports reform is to create an environment where prices will be commensurate with service delivery.

“The benchmark for that process can only be established by commercial regulation,” Folarin  said.

He said that there had been various attempts in the last six years, through National Transport Commission (NTC) Bill and Ports & Harbour Bill, to establish a platform for economic regulator.

“None of these bills have seen the light of the day. We urge the seventh National Assembly to handle the outstanding issues on the two bills with utmost urgency,” he said.

Folarin, who is also the chairman of National Seafarers Welfare Board, said that the situation had been a “free for all” at the ports since there was no benchmark for port charges.

“There is no procedure for doing business in the ports. While this situation lasts, it is very difficult to enjoy the dividend of port reforms,” he said.

Folarin said that this had translated to higher costs for local manufacturers and had made their products uncompetitive compared with imported ones.

Folarin said that this trend would make Nigeria a dumping ground for imported materials and eventually lead to the collapse of local industries.