Maritime trade alone can service the nation’s annual budget – FG
Victoria Ogunrinde
The Minister of State for transportation, Sen. Gbemisola Saraki on Thursday said that Maritime trade alone can service the nation’s annual budget, if properly harnessed.
Speaking at the 2nd phase of the ministerial retreat held at Lagos, Saraki said that “The country is lagging behind in the comity of nations when it comes to ship ownership and shipping business.
“For instance, the world blue economy is worth over $24 trillion. Undoubtedly, blue economy offers great opportunities for foreign exchange earnings. It is also unfortunate that the country is yet to take full advantage and harness the enormous potential in the sector.
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” Now is the time for us to remove everything that is causing delays in the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Funds (CVFF) which is meant to assist the local shipowners to grow and contribute to the economy”, Saraki said.
Similarly, she added that the maritime sector encompasses a range of productive sectors; Fisheries, Aquaculture, Tourism, Transport, Ship building, energy, bioprospecting, under-water mining and related activities all pointing towards economic prosperity, when adequately harnessed.
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The minister however charged stakeholders to leverage on the platform of the Retreat to develop new strategies and initiatives that will make the Maritime Subsector safe, integrated and technologically driven, create employment opportunities, increase market and revenue generation, gender inclusiveness, well-grounded workforce, indigenous shipping that are competitive and sustainable enough to take full advantage of the Continental Free Trade and serve as a hub for Trade relations in the subregion, Africa and the World at large.
“National Inland Waterways Authority should focus on enhancing our waterways for a sustainable coastal trade. Inland water transportation facilitates commerce, promote wealth creation, poverty alleviation and create job opportunities for the youths within such regions.
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“To achieve these expectations, the Ministry and its Agencies need to double its efforts in having a validated and approved legal framework such as the National Transport Policy, the Maritime Policy and the Urban Policy to serve as a blueprint for our operations.
“The maritime sector being a special sector needs efficient and well-trained professionals to ensure effective operation. The employment opportunities available in this sector has not being well harnessed by Nigeria. To be able to do this, we must ensure that our cadets are trained in line with international standards and best practices. This will enable our cadets to compete favorably with others in the world.
“The Maritime Academy of Nigeria should bring its curriculum to conform with international requirements and where need be, collaborate with other relevant institutions.
“NIMASA should also ensure a speedy and timely provision of seatime experience for the trained cadets”, she added.