Headlines
Poor utilisation of Africa’s waterways stunts trade growth in the continent- Expert

Shall-Holma, a former Director in the Nigerian Shippers’Council, observed that deepening trade entails making use of every mode, linkage and transportation mode available to ensure goods were moved from one place to the other.
According to her, there are endless opportunities in the area of water transportation for goods that can be opened up to enhance trade in Africa.
She said that Sealink was looking at exploiting the rivers that could be used for shipping cargoes across Africa.
She said that the Nile river, which was about 6,650 nautical miles in length, flowed down to Ethiopia and sometimes beyond the Blue and White Nile.
“So, these are tributaries that are actually flowing into the Nile. If we open up that as we have already started talking to the Zambezi and talking to Tanzania.
“If we open up that and Egypt re-echoes the development, you know what will happen to the entire eastern flank of Africa.
“In West Africa, we have the Congo River that is just below us and the Niger River. Niger River is a very long river, it’s actually only shorter than the Nile River.
“So we are proud we are sitting on the Niger River and we must utilise that opportunity because it is an opportunity that has been with us.
“The British came and used it for well over 100 years. But we have just come and we are looking at the fishes, the tilapia and the croakers that are in the river.
“And we do not know that can open up a new window, a very fresh window for growth and development. Nothing grows a nation like connectivity and accessibility.”
She also said that a feasibility study was carried out on the coast of Namibia all the way to Senegal in the West and Central African sub-region.
Also, there was the possibility of linking some of the islands that were on the Atlantic Ocean to enhance trade along that region.
She added that it would be more profitable for any shipping link to take in all the cargo that it could take on the Atlantic Ocean.
She said this prompted the organisation to show interest in Cape Verde in the Northern Atlantic, Sao Tome and Principe and then Equatorial Guinea, in the Gulf of Guinea.
She said this was done to confirm the veracity of the claims of importers and exporters, that cargoes leaving West Africa were going somewhere else for trans-shipment.
According to the chairperson, this will amount to double or triple costing.
She, however, said that most of the countries along the West and Central African subregion were now very proud to claim that they have better ports and infrastructure.
Shall-Holma added that they had also improved their logistics and their value chains were at nearly 50 percent to 60 percent.
Sealink Project is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement established to promote the development of a regional maritime company that would remove the bottlenecks and non-tariff measures along the ECOWAS trade corridor.
It was conceived based on the need of importers, exporters and shippers to create a value chain that would sustain the economy of Nigeria and develop additional networks to trade with other African countries.
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Aftermath of Adeyanju’s exit, crisis resurfaces in MWUN

Headlines
NIMASA embarks on digital revolution to plug revenue leakages, enhance optimum operations

— spurns smear campaign against the process
“To set the records straight, following a comprehensive internal review of operational systems, the current leadership of NIMASA resolved to embrace technology as a means of enhancing the Agency’s capacity to deliver on its regulatory mandate more effectively and to bring into the coffers of government additional revenue ensure funds due government does not end up in private hands.
“A pivotal innovation in this regard is the Maritime Enhanced Monitoring System (MEMS).
“The additional recipients targeted are, waste reception services, a routine operation for both domestic and international vessels have traditionally lacked proper tracking, resulting in unmonitored activities and significant revenue losses.
“Marine pollution control, another critical area of NIMASA’s mandate, has similarly been constrained by limited digital tools. In the absence of satellite tracking and automated reporting, pollution events often go unnoticed or are reported too late to mitigate their impact.
“It is important to emphasize that past revenue shortfalls experienced by the Agency mainly stemmed from outdated manual processes, fragmented data systems, and insufficient digital enforcement mechanisms which allowed some external elements to capitalize on the loopholes for personal gains .
“The current reforms being implemented by NIMASA are focused squarely on overcoming these limitations.
“The public is therefore advised to disregard the misleading reports and instead support NIMASA’s transformation journey as it aligns with the broader national objectives of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
“The Agency remains committed to strengthening Nigeria’s maritime governance, ensuring environmental safety, and optimizing revenue for the nation.
“It is worthy of note that the Deep Blue Project of the Agency which now enjoys global recognition also witnessed such resistance at the initial stage” the agency noted.
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