NPA MD mulls e-Call up will eliminate human intervention, extortion at Apapa

 

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala-Usman, has said that the introduction of the Electronic Call-up system will eliminate human intervention from the process as well as eliminate extortion by enforcement and security officers.

Bala-Usman made this assertion during a recent interview on Channels Television monitored by Gentechnews on the Apapa gridlock and the solution.

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mrs Hadiza Bala-Usman, and her team introduced the Electronic Call-up system which she said will eliminate human intervention from the process thereby eliminating extortion by enforcement and security officers.

Bala-Usman lamented that 40-50 percent of trucks causing congestion are actually trying to return empty containers, while shipping companies make billions of naira from importers forfeiting their deposits for returned containers due to congestion in and around the ports, a status quo that pleases shipping companies.

The NPA boss said that one of the solutions being introduced is to create holding bays outside the ports for empty containers, so that the containers will no longer be returned to the ports, but instead to these holding bays, with shipping companies taking responsibility.

She  said ‘’Having identified this truck park through a public process, we have listed eight truck parks that have been so certified by Lagos State Government and Nigerian Ports Authority as approved truck parks that all trucks that have the intention of doing business in the port will sit and they will be called upon using an electronic call-up.’’

She acknowledged the fact that there will be glitches and teething issues in the deployment of the electronic call-up system, stressing that this development will help complement the drive for a business-friendly and secure environment for port business in Nigeria.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu during his recent meeting with the leadership of the NPA agreed that from next Saturday, the movement of trucks in and out of the Lagos seaports will be organised through a transparent electronic call-up system that will be based on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Sanwo-Olu warned that with the new system any truck that flouts the electronic roster and park along Apapa corridor will be impounded by the Taskforce already set up by the Lagos State Government.

Sanwo-Olu expressed optimism on the transparent electronic call-up system, which he said would be complemented with virtual dashboards that will be placed in strategic locations around the seaports, where all stakeholders will monitor the scheduling of container movement.

According to him, in enforcing the new regulations, they are deploying 500 officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to work collaboratively with NPA and deploying more than enough towing vehicles to impound erring trucks, adding that the huge amount to be paid as fine for flouting the call-up system will be a deterrent for drivers not to repeat it.

He noted that Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) and NPA will also ascertain the roadworthiness of trucks before leaving their stations to the seaports to check truck accidents on the highways.

The NPA Boss said part of the advantages of the new system was the creation of eight approved parks where all trucks must first be stationed before being electronically called into the seaports, adding that the deadline for operators to register in the electronic call-up system is February 27, 2021.

Ms Bala Usman announced that the era of individuals depositing empty containers in the seaports was over, adding that empty containers must now be deposited with the shipping companies, which are expected to keep the containers in their holding bays at no cost to individuals who own the shipment.

Gentechnews gathered that the e-call up system is the welcome relief to stakeholders, importers, clearing agents and truck owners who have for many years expressed concerns over worsening gridlock along the access roads at the Tin Can Island Port Complex (TCIPC) caused by the poor condition of the port access roads and extortion by security and traffic control officials.

The National Vice President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Prince Kayode Farinto, said clearing agents lose an average of N300 million weekly to the illegal collection by the security officials, adding that to enter the port, truck operators pay as much as N280, 000 to security operatives on the road.

It was also learnt that before now due to the heavy involvement of human agents, the manual system was marred by cases of bribery, extortion and favouritism on the part of the Task Force mandated to oversee the call-up procedure and this negatively affected port operation, considerably slowed down cargo delivery, caused sudden rise in haulage and shipping costs, thereby fuelling inflation in the country.

The e-call up system will serve as a game changer because it would solve the problem of the pre-allocation of trucks to designated parking spaces as freight trucks have to be linked to the tech-enabled system, and drivers would have been alloted a parking section before being granted access into the port.

What this implies is that trucks not connected to the e-call up system would be denied entry into the ports. This would reduce the number of trucks on ground per park, as well as open up more parking spaces to incoming trailers.

In addition, the e-call up system would help shorten the waiting time for cargo trucks to be cleared as the issue of overtime cargoes is said to have been a constant concern as it has encouraged cargo pilferage and excessive charges.

When trucks are quickly assigned parking lots, it reduces the turnaround time for shipments to be unloaded and cleared. Accordingly, freight traffic would be minimized, corrupt practices like bribery will not just go away.

By and large, Gentechnews is of the view that if the NPA’s e-call up system will be fully executed without human interruption, then there will be no possible avenue for truck operators to compromise the process and there will be a significant opening up of road spaces for freer vehicle movement in Apapa metropolis as well as the ease of doing business at the Apapa port.