NSC to boost trade along W/African corridor with integration of haulage services

Worried by the low volume of inter-state trade within the West African sub-region, the Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) has perfected arrangement to remove all the physical barriers that inhibit trade in the region by integrating, harmonising and standardising trade relations among countries in the region.
To achieve this, the Council at the weekend, inaugurated an interim working committee consisting 8-members selected from member states, to resuscitate the once moribund West African Road Transport Union (WARTU), with the aim of working together to remove all the identified trade barriers.
According to BusinessDay findings, road transport infrastructure is relatively well developed in West Africa, but the volume of transport flows within the region remains low largely due to the existence of numerous check points and non-tariff barriers due to uncoordinated procedures for goods and passengers interstate traffic.
These identified obstacles result to increase in transportation cost and travel time. As a result of this situation, interstate traffic is constrained, preventing economic integration and efficient specialisation of, for example, port infrastructure. However, the general transport cost and travel time have direct cost implication on final users by way of increasing prices of all commodities traded both domestically and internationally.
Also, this situation clearly jeopardises the social and economic development of all countries of the region and in turn, their economic integration.
Speaking at the inauguration in Lagos on Friday, Hassan Bello, executive secretary of NSC, who observed that the volume of trade within the West African region, which represents only 1 percent, is still very small when compared with trade within European countries that stands at 70 percent.
“There is need for integration, harmonisation and standardisation and that is why this meeting was structured at this particular time. Road transport is extremely critical to the integration of West and Central African sub-region that is why we have road transporters from about five countries- Benin Republic, Togo etc- in the region comes to Nigeria to synergise, standardise and look at how to cooperate so as to remove physical barriers in the way of trade,” he explained.
To facilitate trade in the region, Bello suggested that member states need to have unified legal framework, harmonised procedure and to work well with other agencies like Customs in the sub-region to remove trade barriers. “We are going to work within the ECOWAS protocols together with some international organisations, NSC, Nigeria Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and other transport organisations. There are some ECOWAS protocols on road transport like the number of road blocks that has to reduce drastically and other inhibitions removed, for trade volume to increase.”
While noting that one of the major functions of the meeting is to look at ways of improving trade within the sub-region due to the fact that there are so many things to trade, Shippers’ Council boss disclosed that the procedure of the meeting would be taken to the Federal ministry of transportation for onward action to the appropriate authorities.
“We are supported by protocols and laws within ECOWAS sub-region, which we should use to drive trade. Apart from laws and protocols, we are also supported by institutions like border alliance and Nigeria Shippers Council including the Shippers’ Council in all the member countries and road unions such as NARTO in Nigeria. NARTO has being on the forefront of building a strong economic association and they have the capability to making this integration work,” he further stated.
He however pledged that NSC would not only stand by the association but also would support and participate in all the activities of the association.
Reacting to this, Aloga Ogbogo, president of WARTU, who stated that the role of land transportation around the West African region cannot be underestimated, said that it is very important that the once moribund body known as WARTU is resuscitated with the aim of boosting trade along the West African region.
“The volume of trade within the region would have expanded but issues of security, bad roads, road blocks, currency exchange among others inhibit trade growth but WARTU as a body is coming on board to address the issue of trade barriers. Therefore, integration among West African transport unions would definitely expand the volume of trade within the region,” he stated.
WARTU is a body that has being in existence but it went moribund and now we are trying to resuscitate it. Today, the body is back to remove trade barriers in the region.