By Habibat Aliu
The Federal Government has said it will soon harmonise taxes paid by jetty operators to address double taxation and promote ease of doing business in the country.
The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, disclosed this in Abuja in a meeting with the technical sub-committee of the Presidential Standing Committee on Private Jetties (PSCPJ), led by its Chairman, Joseph Ororo.
He noted that operators are more often made to pay multiple registration fees by different regulatory agencies such as the National Inland Waterways (NIWA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
Speaking on the subcommittee’s mandate of licensing jetties and closure of illegal platforms, the Minister appreciated their exploits, while advising that their inspections should not be restricted to timelines but should include unscheduled visits to jetties to ensure compliance with extant laws and regulations.
Earlier, the Chairman of, the Technical Sub-Committee on Private jetties, informed that the committee was created in 2004 to checkmate security breaches, economic sabotage, gun-running, and other criminal activities which were traced to private jetties.
According to him, the sub-committee is the expert arm of the Presidential Standing Committee on Private Jetties (PSCPJ), adding that before the constitution of the PSCPJ, there was a directive to shut down all private jetties across the country due to the intractable illegalities associated with them.
Speaking further, Ororo said the sub-committee had the following terms of reference: “To re-open all jetties deemed vital to the economy of the country as well as to examine all the remaining closed jetties and recommend those to be retained and those to remain permanently closed”.
Others are that: “The PSCPJ meets from time to time to consider applications for operating license for jetties and recommend those to be issued new licenses by the Minister of Transportation.
“The Minister of Transportation should continue to issue licenses for the operation of jetties on the recommendation of the Standing Committee, prepare and present a note to Federal Executive Council (FEC) on the activities of the Standing Committee for its information, and keep the President fully informed on the work of the Standing Committee.”
Ororo informed that the work of the sub-committee has contributed immensely to increased revenue generation for the various regulatory agencies and the Federal Government as well as bringing about a high level of safety at the respective private jetties.
Similarly, he pointed out that another derivative from the work of the committee is that multi-national companies no longer engage jetty facilities if such do not possess valid license duty.
He also observed that there is an improved relationship between the companies and their host communities due to Corporate Social Responsibility Projects and job creation made available to them and Nigerians by extension.
