SIFAX expresses doubt over ‘ease of doing business’ initiative of government at the ports

By FUNSO OLOJO

Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, Group Executive Vice Chairman, SIFAX Group, an indigenous terminal operator, has expressed concerns over the attainment of government initiative of enthroning efficiency that will engender ease of doing business at the nation’s ports.

In a statement issued on his behalf by Mr. Muyiwa Akande ,the Corporate Affairs Manager, SIFAX Group, Afolabi fingered lack of critical infrastructure as a major hindrance to the success of the Federal Government’s drive at improving the ease of doing business in the nation’s ports.

The foremost indigenous terminal operator, who welcomed the Ease of Doing Business initiative by the government, said the development was due to the needless bottleneck encountered in the service delivery process in the ports.

He noted that the problem of infrastructure deficiency should be urgently addressed in order to compliment the executive orders signed recently by the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

Afolabi said the sorry state of the Apapa accesss roads is a source of concern for all business stakeholders, saying fixing the roads would not only aid the initiative but also bring relief and order to one of the country’s economic gateways.

According to him, “The Ease of Doing Business executive orders are good and brilliant initiatives to improve the customer experience, particularly at the nation’s points of entry. I want to commend the government for it. However, I want to submit that the initiative should be an all-encompassing one, where other hindering factors, especially critical infrastructure, are attended to without delay.

“Take for instance, the Apapa ports. There is no way a customer experience can be improved when the importers and exporters find it extremely difficult to transport their goods in and out of the ports because the roads are in a sorry state. Containers fall on these roads on a daily basis with attendant losses. Workers, residents and business owners in the area are not finding things easy as well.

“My appeal to the government is to do a thorough review of other inhibiting factors to doing business in Nigeria and immediately tackle such issues with the urgency with which the Abuja airport’s faulty runway was fixed. Only then we will truly improve the customer experience in the country’’, the SIFAX strongman noted.