7th October, 2011
Stakeholders in the Maritime industry at a post public hearing evaluation on Single Window recently organized by the journal of Freight and Energy, an independent industry publication in collaboration with some prominent and notable maritime stakeholders in Lagos called for a total cancellation of the alleged illegal contract between the Federal Ministry of Finance and Single Window Systems Technology Limited, SWST.
The occasion which was chaired by Mr. Fatai Adewale Hasan, a member of the reconstituted presidential task force on Customs Reforms had over 200 persons drawn from destination inspection service providers including Societe Genrale du Surveillance, SGS, Cotecna Destination Inspection Limited, Global Scan System Nigeria Limited, Government Agencies, Licensed Customs Agents, Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the media.
Notable among the resolutions at the end of the meeting includes that it will amount to a total waste of scarce government resources if the government decides to go into a fresh contract which is to be funded from the comprehensive import supervision scheme, CISS, account with a new service provider when there is an existing build, own, operate and transfer contract that will lapse in December 2012 which has gone into its sixth year of operation since 2005.
It was equally resolved that a single and more simplified documentation process and procedure is achievable on the present Automated Systems for Customs Data, ASYCUDA, that has evolved over time with relevant back-up data which provides foundation for Risk Assessment Reports, RAR and other relevant data that have been generated over half a decade.