Reactions have continued to trail planned licensing of truck parks as well as the establishment of an efficient call up system for trucks operating at the nation’s maritime industry by the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
It will be recalled that the Managing Director of the NPA, Ms Hadiza Bala Usman recently hinted that the authority would soon commence licensing of truck parks where only trucks coming from those parks would be allowed access into the ports to load consignments through a well-coordinated call up system.
However, reacting to the proposal, the Lagos State Vice Chairman, Dry Cargo Section of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Alhaji Abdullahi Inuwa Mohammed described it as a welcome development adding that world over, modernization is taking place and Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind.
Mohammed added that while at the airport, one obtain a gate pass and on getting to the gate, flashes the card and the gate will open for the vehicle to pass through, the case is different at the port where he believed there was a lot more to do to get to that level because “if we want to operate a call up system, the port management will take the lead”.
On only trucks from licensed trailer parks having access to the port, the Lagos NARTO Vice Chairman advised the Management of NPA to think twice as according to him, 80% of the trucks that come to do business in Lagos come from other states of the federation including Abuja.
“So, if they say if a truck that did not come from a licensed trailer park will not gain access to the ports, what of those that are calling direct? Maybe as they are coming, they have already gotten invitation to come direct. I think the thing all boils down to holding bays for empty containers because for me, it is the non-availability of holding bays for receiving empty containers by the shipping companies, that is where the electronic call up system supposed to be working”, he said.
He noted that the Terminal Delivery Order (TDO) which had been programmed between the shipping companies and terminal operators served as call up mechanism for containerized trucks even as he added that for those ones that were carrying bulk cargoes, there were processes before they come to take consignments as according to him,” the terminal operator will issue that call up based on the request of the importer through his clearing agent. They pass it to the terminal operator who passes it to NPA who then passes it to the truck driver and that is when they will now inform the truck driver that he has been programmed for loading”.
He continued,” Any truck that you see going into the port empty or the sided ones, it has been programmed to come and pick cargo. So, it is because of the lack of holding bay for empty containers, that is why you find that empty containers are coming. The electronic call up system can work both sides because if they can programme the call up that they prepare for cargo, they will now key it into the system and pass it to the truck for it come”.
On license trailer parks, Alhaji Mohammed argued that it was not for NPA to ask people to come and obtain license to operate a trailer park, rather they should look out for those who already own garages around the port so as to put heads together to fashion out way forward.
“There is need to identify all this garages and there is need for them to come together to be able to reduce this pressure but to say that if a truck is not coming from a particular garage, maybe I have my garage at Ogere and my truck has been programmed or that it is not even going to the port but to the industrial ports and you said it is not going to access the ports, then there will be another rowdy situation at the port. But it is good to identify all this garages and we now rob minds together to see how we can succeed in reducing this pressure”, he suggested.
On his part, the Secretary of the Joint Council of Seaport Truckers (JCOST), Mr. Godwin Ikeji while saying that they would support good idea for the industry maritime stated that NPA’s proposition in an ideal situation was a welcomed development but regretted that the problem was always in the implementation.
According to him,” We as union members, we are supposed to operate from garages; we woo our members from the garages not on the road. That is why whenever we are quarrelling about this gridlock, anybody thinking that we are enjoying it, it is a lie, we are not enjoying it, we have been against, it does not even help for our smooth operation. We are safer and happier operating from garages. We go about unionizing people then you have a platform of reaching out to them but when there is no such facility and from the institution, the laws gives us the right as a union to operate in the garages not on the road.
“So, if NPA can do anything to see that there are functional garages that will meet the requirements of the logistics system for instance, there is need for proximity of these garages to the ports, it is not just going to be one. We are talking of call up system, our people on ground, we have what we call people who are doing national, how would you do their own call up? They don’t go to any garage; they just come from outside there and access the port directly. So, you see that one has to be studied and see how it fits in otherwise, fantastic”.
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