NPA Boss Implores PMWCA on International Standards, Private Sector Involvement In Provision Of Ports Facilities

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The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman has challenged Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMWCA) to devise ways to pilot the sub-region to take full advantage of trading opportunities by encouraging private sector involvement in the provision of port facilities as well as the pursuit of innovations “that will bring our ports to international standards”.

  Addressing the meeting of Finance & Economic Studies (FES), Administration & Legal Affairs (ALA) Committees of PMWCA in Lagos, Bala Usman said given the enormous potentials of the maritime sector on the continent and the significant role that Nigeria plays in the actualisation of these potentials, “the current management of the Nigerian Ports Authority is committed to supporting PMWCA as well as in introducing innovations that would redirect the maritime industry in order to attain international best practices”.

 Explaining further, Bala Usman said:“As you are all aware, PMAWCA has continually served as a multilateral organ for regional cooperation amongst ports in West and Central Africa and its activities serve as a vehicle for the actualisation of the dreams of the African Union (AU) as well as the objectives of New Partnership for African’s Development (NEPAD)”.

 She added: “The Association has also been a channel for the attainment of regional integration through consensus building on issues of maritime development.

 “Within the framework of inter-port cooperation, PMAWCA serves as the platform for the exchange of information and expertise for synergy in the field of Port Operations, Administration, Legal Framework, Security and the Safety of Navigation within the Gulf of Guinea.

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 “We will continue our aggressive pursuit of excellence through the automation of operational processes, partnering with the private sector for channel maintenance and infrastructure development and collaborating with sister agencies and stakeholders to build a port community system. We are also committed to building a motivated human resource, through training and retraining, recruitment, redeployment, promotion and building a succession process.

 “Through our robust internal automation initiatives, we have blocked revenue leakages and contributed significantly to government earnings by our strict adherence to Federal Government’s directives on TSA and Zero Based Budgeting.

 “To ensure transparency and accountability the Organization became the first MDA to open its budget to the public with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with BUdgit Open Budget System Platform and Implementation of a Public Data Dissemination programme”.

In his remarks, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, told the delegates that the Nigerian government is determined to turnaround the Nigerian economy, highlighting the strategic role Nigeria plays in ports development in the Gulf of Guinea and the sub-region.

The Minister who was represented by Director Maritime Services, Alhaji Umar Galadanchi, further urged PMWCA to harness the enormous potentials of the maritime sector to the benefits of Nigeria and other members within the region.

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