TRADE FACILITATION: LCCI Advocates Effective Inter-Agencies Collaboration

As part of efforts to boost trade facilitation, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has harped on inter-governmental agencies cooperation in the maritime sector toward ensuring reduction dwelling time of cargoes at the seaports.

Director General of LCCI Dr. Muda Yusuf who disclosed this recently at sensitisation programme last week in Lagos , stressed the need for the agencies to shun “silo mentality” and embrace transparent cooperation to enhance trade facilitation.

Yusuf described “silo mentality”amongst maritime government agencies as individual operations without support from others.

According to him, trade facilitation looks at how procedures and controls governing the movement of goods across national borders can improve to reduce associated cost burdens and maximize efficiency while safeguarding legitimate regulatory objectives.

He said, the main objective of trade facilitation is to reduce the complexities and cost associated with cumbersome border procedures and control, while maintaining efficient compliance.

He noted that an enhanced inter-agencies cooperation in the maritime industry would further reduce cost of doing business at the nation’s seaports with less paper documentation.

The DG noted that harmonisation of operations among the agencies would also bring about flexibilities regarding payment interest adding that provision of adequate information would strengthen cooperation among them.

He also frowned at the multiplicity of government agencies at the seaport saying it has led to too many discretionary power this affecting trade facilitation.

“There is need to discontinue the silos mentality of government agencies because it will improve efficiency of trade processes and reduction of direct contact among people.

By Roland Ekama