Freight Forwarders Groan As Scarcity Of New Naira Notes Worsen
By Patrick Onugbor
The freight forwarders in the maritime industry have expressed their deep worry over the acute shortage of new naira notes as it affects their operation in the ports. Freight forwarders lamented the hardship that the obnoxious government policy has plunged them into, as the situation worsen and bite harder.
The freight forwarders under a “core group of concern freight forwarders” has said that the bugbear policy has adversely affected their operational transactions in the ports, as new naira notes are not easily accessible to them.
They further said that the prevailing situation have made them very deplorable, despair and in disarray which tends to cripple the fast clearance of cargoes in the ports. They express their agony and untold hardships they went through in the course of clearance of cargoes in the ports, as most online transfer and transactions have been bastardized due to poor network connection as it fluctuates. More so, the payment of Customs duty, shipping charges, terminal charges and other sundry charges have been very difficult, due to the prevailing challenges in the Banks.
The online transactions and e-banking has been a morasse to them, and as such, it has stymied the fast clearance of cargoes in the ports. The freight forwarders lamented the agony of going through Banking queues, ATM, POS charges, poor network connection, Transfer delays, new naira exorbitant charges, are some of the cesspit that have bedevilled the fast clearance of cargoes in the ports. They posited that some of these challenges have also affected other port services and various agencies operating in the ports, which includes : Shipping companies, terminal operators, ship chandlers, Dockworkers, import and export, cargo traffic, haulage, port security, ship owners and thingummy of others.
The concern freight forwarders further worried that the shortage and scarcity of the new naira notes has crippled business and economic activities in the ports, and at its lowest ebbs, stressing that they are feeling the pain, suffering and cash crunch as their inability to access cash, have culminated in demurrage, over time cargo, excessive charges and abandonement of cargoes in the ports.
A freight forwarder, who spoke on the condition of anonymous has describe the situation as hellish, as most of them are under pressure to meet up their business transactions and operational challenges. He apprise that the obnoxious bugbear policy has adversely affected their business as it has stymied economic activity in the ports corridor.
He expressed his misgiving, that the prevailing situation has impoverished freight forwarders and ill-timed. With the prevailing circumstances, some port users have applied austerity measures to circumvent the morasse.
