Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) to hold Roundtable Session on
“Service Delivery at the Nigerian Ports”
The Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN), represented in Nigeria by
the Convention on Business Integrity (CBI), is set to host a roundtable session
themed, “Towards
Standard Operating Procedures That Work in Nigeria’s Sea Ports & Terminals” on Tuesday, October 8th,
2019.
The Maritime
Anti-Corruption Network (MACN)
is a global business network working towards the vision of a maritime industry
free of corruption, enabling fair trade
to the benefit of society at large. In collaboration with CBI, MACN broadened
its collective action in the fight against corruption under the Business Action
Against Corruption (BAAC) mandate.
Context
In 2012, the MACN, in collaboration with the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), the Technical Unit on Government and Anti-Corruption Reforms
(TUGAR), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission (ICPC) commissioned a corruption risk assessment (CRA) in the
Nigerian port sector.
The assessment set out to understand the main drivers of corruption in
the sector, identify specific measures for addressing such drivers, and
catalyze action among public and private sector stakeholders.
The Corruption Risk Assessment report made specific recommendations for
action to eliminate corruption in the Nigerian port sector. Amongst the
recommendations was a proposal for ethics training and capacity-building
programs to strengthen transparency and accountability of port stakeholders.
As part of its collective action programme, in 2016 MACN contracted the
CBI to lead the training of ports officials on professional ethics. Pursuant to
this, the CBI conducted a round of ‘Training of Trainers’ in Lagos (Apapa and
Tin-Can Island ports), Port Harcourt (Onne and Rivers Port Complex), and
Calabar Port between 2016 and May 2017. Thereafter, an end-user training was
conducted for over 1000 stakeholders in the Ports between November 2017 and
March 2018.
In August 2019, CBI released its Ports User Survey
Report following a customer survey done
in December 2018. The report addressed the following issues:
- The lack of clear procedures and processes backed up by relevant laws
(including obsolete laws and procedures) in many areas of port operation
including such processes as Temporary Imports, Permanent Imports, Midstream Discharge,
Emergency Importations (Hand carry policy) etc.
- Exercise of discretionary powers by Customs officers, port agencies,
Terminal Operators, and Stevedoring Companies including the discretionary
powers to impose customs duties and tariffs, classification of goods, port
charges and the potential disruption of operations of companies that depend on
the ports for the importation of critical parts and goods for their operations.
- Existence of a system of bottlenecks made possible due to wide
discretionary powers of port officials and the likelihood for such powers to be
used to create opportunities for graft and extortion of port users.
- Payments for services not rendered by port agencies including the
dredging of waterways by port users, payment to Stevedoring companies without
any services being rendered, collection of pilotage fees in areas outside
pilotage districts including international waters etc.
- Lack of awareness of port users on the existence of the port agencies
SOP.
- Absence of complaints/feedback desks/redress mechanisms and the effectiveness of such where available.
One of the recommendations proposed is the need for experience sharing
sessions among Nigerian ports/terminals, customers/users, officials/officers,
management, government and their West African/European counterparts, in order
to enable the Nigerian groups to learn how to build and deploy integrity,
anticorruption governance strategies and build a positive business environment
going forward.
Specifically, the objective of this MACN event is to launch a series of
interventions aimed at promoting transparency and the consistent application of
Standard Operating Procedures leading to more predictable (in time and cost)
vessel and cargo clearance at the Ports & Terminals.
Stakeholders at the event would also have an opportunity to be part of
ongoing collective action to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our
ports and terminals.
Details of the Round-Table Session
Date: Tuesday, October 8th, 2019
Venue: The Providence by Mantis Hotel- 12A Oba Akinjobi Way, Ikeja GRA,
Lagos (Same Street with Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral by Sobo
Arobiodu Roundabout).
Time: 9.30am (Registration starts at 9am)
Target
Participants
Expected guests at this event include Directors General/CEOs of Port
Agencies, Relevant Regulatory Agencies, The Private sector, Port users as well
as the General Public.
Contact Details
Please do not hesitate to contact:
Yinka Johnson (07013715571) yinka.johnson@cbinigeria.com;
and
Kitan Babalola (08067829272) kitan.babalola@cbinigeria.com
You
can also join the conversation on our social media platforms @CBiNGR @IntegrityNGR and @BAAC_Nigeria using the hashtags #CBiMaritime
and #CBiRoundtable
About
CBi
The Convention on Business Integrity (CBI), a Company Limited by
Guarantee is the private sector facing arm of the Integrity organisation. CBi
was launched in October 1997 and incorporated as a company limited by guarantee
in May 2003. The organization was established with the mission of promoting
ethical business Practices, transparency and fair competition in the private
and public sectors. It builds coalitions and develops sustainable strategies
for citizen involvement with government in both sectors.
About MACN
The Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) is a global business network
working towards the vision of a maritime industry free of corruption that
enables fair trade to the benefit of society at large. Established in 2011 by a
small group of committed maritime companies, MACN has grown to include over 100
members globally, and has become one of the pre-eminent examples of collective
action to tackle corruption.
