To reposition the maritime sector for greater performance, Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency ( NIMASA) Dakuku Peterside yesterday announced that the agency would soon draft a three year medium term maritime growth plan.
Peterside who disclosed this at a stakeholders meeting organised by the agency said he would also carry out structural reform a view to enhancing NIMASA’s performance.
According to him, the performance of the agency can only be measured by the type of service it is able to render to better the lot of indigenous players in the sector and not by the amount of revenue it is able to generate.
He said the maritime growth strategy plan would be drafted with input from stakeholders, which he said is fundamental to enable it perform its statutory function.
“We are about to draft our medium term maritime growth plan covering the period 2016 to 2019. We thought it wise that it must be stakeholders led, that is an important reason why we are here.
“We are also going to embark on a comprehensive structural, cultural and performance reforms. We are looking at the possibility of changing the structure.
“We are also looking at reforming our work culture. Our performance will not be measured by how much money we are able to rake into the federal purse rather by how many persons are able to acquire their vessels, how many persons are involved in coastal and inland trade. At the center of this is the stakeholders, how would this impact on stakeholders?
“For all of us to agree on the direction the maritime industry should take, we want to hear from you,” he said.
He said that while it seems the agency has derailed from its core responsibility of promoting indigenous shipping and securing the nation’s waterways, it has not lost focus of the mandate. He assured that NIMASA is now determined to go back to its core mandate with stakeholders’ collaboration.
He assured that all input from stakeholders in its transformation agenda would be optimally utilized in charting a roadmap for the sector.
Some stakeholders who spoke at the event reiterated the need for NIMASA to promote indigenous shipping capacity and the need to ensure its surveyors are well trained to avoid sub standard ships plying the nations waterways.
Public Secretary, Nigerian Ship Owners Association (NISA), Engr. Emmanuel Ilori called on NIMASA to seek support from international certification societies on the certification of vessels.
“We are not yet at that stage where we are competent enough to issue certificates and carry out surveys. So when we are not there, we should be seeking support from global authorities that have the competence,” he said.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.