Nigeria’s plan to invest $18.12 million into acquisition of three new scanning machines for cargo inspection has reassured shippers that Nigerian seaports are on the move to becoming a modern port with an automated cargo clearing processes.
With scanning machines, analysts say, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) would be able to reduce the rate of manual inspection and human contact at ports in facilitating cargo clearing.
Presently, Nigerian ports are heavily congested because containers are not being cleared as soon as they should due to lack of functional scanners.
“Scanning is one of the best modern methods of cargo inspection because it eliminates the need to go for physical examination and reveal 100 percent, the content in the container. If a ship berths, before any container is stacked at the terminal, it would be scanned and the content saved in the system for duty valuation,” Tony Anakebe, managing director of Gold Link Investment Limited, a Lagos-based clearing and forwarding company, says.
Anakebe, who commends the move, says such efforts would go a long way to ameliorate the plights of cargo owners at the port.
According to Anakebe, the delay caused by manual inspection has compelled importers to pay demurrage and storage charges to shipping companies and terminal operators as additional cost of doing business. This they impose on Nigerians by raising the market prices of commodities.
“With the acquisition of new scanners, delays would be reduced and automation would be embraced. This also means that Nigeria can generate more money from Customs revenue through blocking leakages, and creating businesses for firms that import goods,” he notes.
Anakebe, who blames poor maintenance culture for lack of functional scanners at ports, states that the several spoilt fixed scanners at the ports and border stations can be refurbished, but they are presently wasting away without repairs. He however urges the government to ensure the machines are professionally managed to avoid Nigerian factors – the lack of maintenance culture.
BusinessDay can recall that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its ninth virtual meeting approved $18.12 million and N3.255 billion contracts, which was awarded to Messrs Airwave Limited, for the supply and installation of three mobile cargo scanners.
Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, said the cargo scanners would be placed in Onne Port, Port Harcourt Port and Tin-Can Port.
“The scanners will fasten cargo examination and reduce the need for the Customs to open containers to do physical inspection as they are doing, which is causing us, Nigeria, a lot of time as well as loss of revenue,” she said.
Vicky Haastrup, chairman, Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), who decries the high rate of manual examination of cargoes, says deployment of automated scanners would drive and enhance cargo clearing process.
Haastrup, who spoke in Lagos during a virtual conference held recently, said manual examination of cargoes was not efficient and does not promote social distancing.
“We have a situation where people must visit the port physically to do Customs documentation and cargo examination before they can take delivery of their consignments. This is not safe at this time of Covid-19, and it is also inefficient,” she said.
According to Haastrup, terminal operators had in the past years suggested to Customs to allow them invest in scanners but up till today, nobody has done anything on that.
“It is a shame that Nigerian ports do not have quality and functional scanners that is why Customs relies on physical examination of containers, which drives human traffic into the port. We need to provide these scanners and other automation platforms in order to make cargo clearance quicker. Nigerian ports must operate the one-stop-shop if we must compete with other ports in the West and Central Africa,” she said.
Recall that in line with the port reform agenda of 2006, the Federal Government entered into contract with Scanning Service Providers (SSPs) that includes Cotecna, SGS and Global Scan, responsible for approving Form M, issuing Risk Assessment Report (RAR) and scanning goods imported into Nigeria.
The contract, which was based on build, operate, own and transfer (BOOT) regime, allowed the Destination Inspection (DI) agents to acquire six multi-billion dollar mobile and fixed scanners for electronic examination of imports at the ports and border stations.
Seven year after the DI agents handed over the equipment to Nigeria Customs to manage, cargoes now dwell as long as three weeks to one month at the port due to delay in clearing goods, and the importers pay demurrage and storage charges for the delay.
