Vincent Toritseju
31 October 2018, Sweetcrude, Lagos — Nigeria through the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA has called for a harmonized legal framework that will enhance and ease the movement of cargoes within the African continent.
Speaking at the second continental conference of African Women in Maritime WIMAFRICA, Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman said that an African framework targeted at enhancing the conveyance of cargos and the quality of logistics in a more predictable manner will increase trade amongst countries in the regions.
Usman also said that the move to have a harmonized framework in Africa have become imperative to eliminate encumbrances affecting trade liberalization and facilitation in the continent.
She further enjoined members of WIMAFRICA to key into the concept of trade facilitation, which she noted is a major driver of economic development and growth of Nations, adding that this will enable Africa to effectively maximize the tremendous benefits of trade facilitation.
The NPA boss, however, charged members of WIMAFRICA to unravel critical issues militating against the continent from taking the advantages of the prospects of trade facilitation just as she also admonished them to come up with strategic plans that will upscale the desired growth and development of the economy of the continent.
She said: “for us in the continent to get trade facilitation right, it is imperative that our regulatory environment must be tied with best practices and strengthened to ensure that operators in the trade corridors and border – post adhere to the various article of the World Trade Organization on Trade Facilitation Agreement. We in the continent more than ever before need to redefine our trade processes to ensure simplification of documentation, automation, efficiency, transparency, and professionalism; this no doubt will engender ease of doing business”.