Why MAJAN, stakeholders want to appraise maritime Q1 on Thursday
On Thursday, May 20, 2021, maritime stakeholders in conjunction with journalists will brainstorm over the performance of the sector in the first quarter of the year which ended in March.
According to the organizers of the event, the Maritime Journalists Association of Nigeria (MAJAN), it is an occasion to give experts in the industry the opportunity to assess the growth, development, investments’ inflow, job creation, foreign exchange earnings, revenue contributions to GDP, among others.
According to MAJAN, other areas for discussion will include the commencement of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and the Electronic Call-up System introduced by the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) to tackle traffic gridlock on ports access road.
Similarly, issues of insecurity/lack of safety surrounding barge operations; Customs modernization project; security on the nation’s waterways, among others, will also feature at the forum.
Also stakeholders would review how the industry had made gains or losses so far in the reviewed period and proffer solutions on the way forward.
MAJAN disclosed that agencies and organizations that excelled in the period under review would be commended by the forum while those that fell short of expectations would be told so and encouraged to up their ante.
To the President of MAJAN, Comrade Ray Ugochukwu, the assessment of the industry was very important in order to know how the sector had fared in the first quarter. He added that it was also to let the operators, both service providers and consumers, realize that the whole world was watching them and taking records of their various activities in the system.
Ugochukwu added, “Journalists have a duty to disseminate information to the general public. As such, they must have a clear understanding of the activities in the maritime sector and the economy at large, in order to give the reading public credible information at all times”.
Meanwhile, many individuals and corporate establishments have indicated interests to be part of the industry appraisal forum in order to contribute their own quota in the process of repositioning the maritime sub-sector of the economy.
