Stakeholders canvass legal backing for NSC as economic regulator
Determined to consolidate on the gains of the port reform that started in 2006, which brought cargo handling operations at the ports under the control of several private terminal operators, the Federal Government recently appointed the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) as an interim economic regulator for the ports.
Indeed, in the face of indentified lapses in port operations in the country – longer vessel turnaround time, longer cargo dwelling time, delay in cargo clearance due to complex procedures, corruption, as well as controversial cost-effectiveness of the port compared with other ports in the sub-region – the importance of economic regulation in the sector cannot be over-emphasised.
Industry close watchers believe the existence of an economic regulator in the port would help to bring about efficiency and cost-effectiveness if all the players adhere to the rules of engagement as stipulated by the regulator.
But this new responsibility was given to the NSC without an instituted legal framework to empower it to move into action and ensure efficient port operation through creating an enabling playing field for the service providers, agencies and port users.
BusinessDay findings show that lack of the needed legal framework to back up the existence of the council as an economic regulator is attributable to the non-passage of the Ports and Harbour Bill, which is supposed to institute an economic regulator for the port. The bill is currently awaiting the approval of the National Executive Council (NEC).
Hassan Bello, executive secretary, NSC, said the aim of government in establishing an economic regulator was essentially to harness port potentials through an effective coordination of all parties involved in the port.
In a bid to evolve a legal draft necessary to guide it in the performance of its task, the council recently brought relevant agencies, including the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Ministry of Justice, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), and the Federal Ministry of Transport (FMOT) together to find a more appropriate way of instituting a legal backing to the responsibility.
Bello, who noted that Nigerian ports were not as efficient and cost-effective as they ought to be, explained that the Kaduna parley was therefore strategically important as it enabled the presidential pronouncement on the council to be backed by the required law. He assured that the council was ready to also undertake the needed internal restructuring, in conformity with the laws or legal framework to be evolved, so as to ensure the its optimal performance from inception.
“Nigeria should never lose sight of the fact that the country is in competition. Therefore, all must be done to enable the country enjoy its natural advantage,” he added.
Uba Mohammed, deputy director, BPE, in a paper at the opening session of the parley, said there was also need for the economic regulator to entrench transparency if it must enjoy legitimacy and credibility.
He further advised that the council must pursue the emergence of a perfect market system where there would be free flow of information; forces of demand and supply that are in tandem; free entry and exit of operating parties; and healthy competition.
“The regulator must see itself as the father of all. The consumers must be protected from the arbitrariness and exploitation of the service providers. Special efforts must also be made to ensure that the service providers can continue to gainfully operate to avoid quitting as a result of low return on investment, and the market suffers a failure,” he said.
Subsequently, the participants decided it was needful that the presidential pronouncement appointing NSC as an economic regulator be gazetted so as to ensure that other powers that may be thereafter conferred on it may be built on more solid and enduring foundation capable of standing the test of time.
They also made proactive insights into possible areas of future litigations from adventurous investors, even as some stakeholders maintained that until the council could operate with some degree of independence, it may neither enjoy respect nor perform with legitimacy.
They specifically agreed that the NSC must not be bogged down by the limitations of its former powers, but must be re-empowered to become more dynamic, relevant and focused to function in its new roles.
“We are not looking at powers to enable the Shippers’ Council to act as Shippers’ Council; we are working to evolve legal framework, in line with the constitution, to enable the Shippers’ Council to act as an economic regulator,” said Hamzat Alhassan Tahir, a director in the legal drafting department of the Federal Ministry of Justice.
The brainstorming session concluded on the fact that every letter of the regulations to be evolved must ensure that investors fully understand by which standards they are being controlled. In other words, the rules must be transparent, legitimate, proactive, and encompassing, being easy to understand and not impossible to obey.
Uzoamaka Anagor