The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) is working with the Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA) to further protect shippers and promote trade in Africa.
Mr. Hassan Bello, the executive secretary / managing director of NSC, told reporters in Abuja on Wednesday that the collaboration would allow them to do more for the region.
He also said the collaboration would ensure efficient service delivery and allow the two countries to export their goods and earn foreign exchange without hindrance.
“The most important thing is that we need to unite consumers of shipping services through advocacy or regulation. We have to make sure there is a balance, there is a balance, we have to make sure there is a level playing field.
“Our economies must not be strangled; we must wean ourselves from the mono-economy of the oil sector and consider an alternative or an option.
“And there is no more promising alternative than the shipping or transportation industry and that is why the shippers’ council has always played a role at every stage of the economic revolution not only in Africa but in the world, ”Bello said.
The NSC boss said it was important for shipper regulators to ensure shippers make a profit to enable them to employ young people.
He said: “employment more than infrastructure is the key to the growth of our various economies.”
Meanwhile, GSA Executive Director Benonita Bismarck assured the NSC of the authority’s willingness to work with Nigeria.
Bismarck noted that the African Shippers Council has a role in protecting Africa’s trade and that Ghana will work with Nigeria to achieve this.
“To stay relevant we have to be proactive and make sure that whatever needs to be done to ensure that the competition is visible but that there is no arbitrariness, we have to do it.
“We have to work together to see where we can support each other so that we can stand up,” she said.
The boss of the GSA said that since the creation of the GSA in 1974, it has become necessary to change the framework to reflect current realities.
She added that Ghana would learn from how the NSC has reshaped its laws to reflect current realities.
(NAN)