As Ghana prepares to implement its own Cabotage Regulations, the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) visited the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on Tuesday to study Nigeria’s experiences and avoid potential pitfalls.
Meanwhile, NIMASA’s Director General, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has reassured Nigerian Shipowners that the amended Cabotage Act will be signed into law before the end of President MuhammaduBuhari’s administration, and that the amendment will not impact the distribution of the eagerly anticipated Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF).
Jamoh praised the visiting officials from the Ghana Maritime Authority and recalled that the idea for Ghana’s own Cabotage regime was originally proposed by Kwame Owusu, the former Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, during a strategic meeting at NIMASA several years ago.
According to him, the opportunity to collaborate and partner with GMA would lead to growth and development in the maritime sector for Nigeria and Ghana, even as it strengthens partnership within the Gulf of Guinea coast.
Speaking on one of the critical aspects of Nigeria’s Cabotage administration which is the CVFF Fund, Dr Jamoh said NIMASA has rejected the 8.5 percent interest rate proposed by five commercial banks selected as primary lenders for the $350 million fund.
He said the agency is currently exploring better options for shipowners that would be selected as beneficiaries of the Cabotage Fund put together to empower Nigerian shipowners to take over the nation’s shipping business from foreigners.
He said the agency has started discussions with a new set of developmental banks that will be ready to back the agency by offering an interest rate that would impose burdens on Nigerian shipowners when repaying the loan.
“The commercial banks are offering 8.5 percent but we want them to reduce the rate. We are still discussing with the Primary Lending Institutions to ensure that shipowners get the best deal because we will never allow banks to impose unnecessary guidelines or interest rates on Nigerians. These are the core issue, the issue of interest rates will be dealt with and if we clear those grey areas; then we will disburse the fund before the end of the regime,” Jamoh said.
He promised that NIMASA will get the best bargain for the shipowners, adding that the CVFF guideline for the disbursement of the CVFF stipulates that shipowners will contribute 15 percent; the government will bring 50 percent and banks will provide only 35 percent.
“We are making contacts with development banks to see how much they can give to shipowners as interest rates though we are currently working with commercial banks. This is why we are consulting other banks to do a peer review before going back to the stakeholders.
Earlier, Patience Diaba, the team leader of the Ghana Maritime Authority’s delegation to Nigeria, said the team from Ghana came to Nigeria to learn about the implementation of the Cabotage Act.
Diaba, who is the director of Legal of GMA, said when the country learns from Nigeria, they will avoid the holes and go faster than Nigeria.
“We are here because we are about to implement our own Cabotage regulations. It is better to learn firsthand from the challenges Nigeria went through so we don’t need to go through the same,” she added.
The CVFF was established alongside the Nigerian Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act of 2003, to empower indigenous ship owners to take control of the nation’s coastal and inland shipping business, otherwise known as the Cabotage trade.
The approved PLIs for the disbursement of the CVFF are Union Bank, Polaris, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Zenith, and Jaiz Bank.