Kunle Kalejaye 06 July 2016, Sweetcrude, Lagos -The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has unveiled a three-year medium-term strategic growth plan for the maritime sector.
According to Director General of the agency, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, the plan is built around the core mission of the new management at the agency, which is to reform, restructure and reposition NIMASA for sustainable growth and for the development of the industry.
He said the document is built on five pillars, including survey; inspection and certification transformation programme; environment; security and search and rescue transformation programme as well as capacity building and promotional initiatives which entail growing indigenous tonnage, ship building and human capacity.
Others are digital transformation strategy, and structural and cultural reforms, including changes to work ethic and attitude of staff as well as processes and procedures.
Peterside, who noted that NIMASA was committed to the actualisation of this mandate, said: “The times are quite challenging given the dwindling global economy, decline in crude oil price and foreign exchange and fiscal policies which have impacted the revenue of the Agency.
“This requires ingenious leadership to actualise our policy direction and we are committed to providing that leadership”.
He said one of the ways to shore up the Agency’s income to actualise the strategic programme is to block revenue leakages through the full automation of systems and processes to eliminate human contact and increase efficiency.
On capacity building, the he affirmed his commitment to providing sea-time training to cadets of the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme and the judicios application of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, CVFF, to assist local operators to re-fleet and increase the nation’s tonnage.
Peterside said that in the short term, the strategic plan of the Agency aims to achieve full automation by the end of 2016, achieve 100 percent efficiency and effectiveness in processes within the same period and complete its rebranding process by the end of the first quarter of 2017.
