Maritime operators seek appointment of professional in transport ministry

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'This is no time for learning on the job' 

With the maritime industry still in the throes of wholesale reforms, operators are seeking the appointment of a knowledgeable technocrat to head the ministry of transport.  This is coming on the heels of the sack of the ministers by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, last week. 

The reforms in terminal operations, liberalisation of ownership of ports and issues relating to streamlining of the cargo delivery, they said, make it imperative that somebody acquainted with the dynamics in the maritime industry be appointed the next minister of transport.   

"The industry needs an eligible man that by training and qualification knows the terrain and appreciates the enormity of challenges confronting the shipping industry," Abdulwaheed Kareem, chairman of the Port Consultative Council (PCC), said. "The industry is vast and requires a man who will not have to learn the rope but understands the rope climbing tactics already," he said. 

Noting that Acing President Goodluck Jonathan is in race against time with barely 14 months to May 2011, Kareem said that for the economy and the maritime industry to grow, "a man who knows the dynamics, contending issues and challenges of maritime and will help the acting president complete the race should head the transport ministry." He called on Jonathan to consider the crop of people actively engaged in the various facets of shipping operations. "But if the government must overlook the present group of practitioners, they should pick somebody with adequate training to head the transport ministry," he said.  "We must, however, appreciate the fact that the former minister performed reasonably well considering the circumstance under which he served," he said. 

Also calling for the appointment of a professional, Olayiwola Shittu, chairman of the publicity committee of the Council for the Registration of Freight Forwarders (CRFF), said the transport ministry should be given its rightful status as one that demands specialised knowledge. 

"The industry is the backbone of the economy. More than 90 percent of what we consume in the country is shipped in. The challenges are enormous and not something that we can afford to get somebody who will spend almost one year trying to understand the industry he should be making policies on. 

"We can't be saddled with people who will come to learn on the job. There is no time for learning any longer," Shittu said.

Maritime operators seek appointment of professional in transport ministry

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