The Centre for the Promotion of Public Enterprises (CPPE) says it expects an acceleration of reforms in the maritime industry in 2023.
Chief Executive Officer, of CPPE, Muda Yusuf, in an exclusive chat with PUNCH, said the maritime sector grossly underperformed last year.
Muda also explained that there were several instances of cargo diversion in 2022, adding that policies and institutional and structural bottlenecks affected the sector.
“The Nigerian maritime sector is one of the sectors that have grossly underperformed over the years. The 2022 story is not different. Smaller countries with more efficient ports are doing much better.
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“The foreign exchange environment caused a significant deceleration in maritime sector activities in 2022. Importers had to contend with drastic currency depreciation, volatility of the exchange rate, scarcity of foreign exchange and multiple forex windows,” he said.
According to him, since the foreign exchange is the currency for international trade, a dysfunctional foreign exchange policy would naturally impact the maritime sector.
“I expect an acceleration of reforms in the maritime sector. We should see more serious commitments, better use of technology, full implementation of a single window for cargo clearance processes, better access to the ports and more investments in port infrastructure,” he asserted.
