It is in the interest of terminal operators that cargo should overstay in the ports for no other reason than to make more money. This is because 60 to 70 per cent of terminal operators’ revenue comes from storage charges, a prominent Transport Consultant and Chairman/Chief Consultant, Global Transport Policy (GTP), Dr. Segun Musa, has revealed.
Dr. Musa who hosted a team of journalists under the aegis of Journalists of Like-minds Advocacy Group last week maintained that if cargoes come into the port and exit immediately the revenue of terminal operators will drop sharply.
“It is in their interest that all cargoes should go into storage so that they can make more revenue and that is why they put a lot of bottleneck there,” he restated.
The Transport Consultant emphasized that it is for the same reason of maximizing revenue that terminal operators often operate as if they are the NDLEA, as if they are the Customs, as if they are the Police, monitoring for these agencies and at times giving false information. He alleged that it is because they want the cargoes to be delayed so as to make more money from storage charges.
In his words: “If cargoes come into the port and exit immediately, their revenue will decline sharply. It is in their interest that all cargoes should go into storage. That’s why they put a lot of bottleneck there. That is when you see the terminal operators operating as if they are the NDLEA, as if they are the Customs, as if they are the Police, monitoring for them and even at times giving false information.
“It is because they want the cargo to be delayed so as to make more money. You just hear there is police alert on that job, there is NDLEA alert on that job, there is Customs alert on this job. It is because they want to maximize their own revenue.”
Dr. Musa proffered solution to alert on shipments, saying that such shipment can be taken to the owner’s warehouse or government warehouse for physical examination as the case may be instead of delaying it in the port where it will be continuously attracting demurrage.
He categorically stated that there will be no need for payment of storage charges if the port is fully automated. He charged the Nigeria Customs Comptroller General, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi to fully automate the Customs system, so that other agencies and organizations in the port can follow suit.
“Automate the system to block loopholes. When you automate the system, you don’t even know who you are dealing with. Leakages will stop naturally and there will be turnover. The revenue will be coming from turnover because more people will be importing. A lot of people will have confidence in going into import. They can project what to bring in and what they can make from whatever they bring in. So a lot of people will pick interest in importation. So, to me giving target to Customs is abnormal, allow the system to operate to enhance turnover. The more volume that comes in, the more money government makes because the mechanisms are already there to check leakages through automation,” the Transport Consultant explained.