Business
Stakeholder Bemoans Delay In Maritime Bills Passage
The delay in the enactment of the various Maritime Bills before the National Assembly has been described as counter-productive.
A Port Harcourt-based Maritime expert, Sir Chuks Anselem, who made the assertion in an interview with The Tide in his office in Port Harcourt on Monday said the delay in the passage of the bills is not in the best interest of the nation’s economy.
Anselem, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ANS Consult Nig. Ltd noted that the delay must have been as a result of the members of the National Assembly not being conversant with the importance of the bills, and called for sensitisation.
He reiterated that with President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda on Maritime Sector, such bills need not to be delayed, and called on the Federal Ministry of Transport and the House Committee on Maritime to ensure that the bills were passed for the benefit of all in the marine transport sub-sector.
The Expert also appealed to the National Assembly to expedite action on the passage of all Maritime Bills, because of their importance to the nation’s economy.
On the Customs Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), Anselem said despite compliance of operational bottle-necks, it facilitates cargo clearance at the Ports, and noted that it had come to stay.
According to him, since the introduction of PAAR, Customs had been fine tuning the process of its issuance to ensure that trade is facilitated round the clock, and enjoined the authorities to keep up the spirit.
Collins Barasimeye