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Tag: services

  • UN agencies to launch campaign against illicit goods, services

    UN agencies to launch campaign against illicit goods, services

    In the presence of the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have agreed to launch a new public awareness campaign, calling on tourists to help reduce demand for illicit goods and services linked to transnational organized crime.

    Preparations for the campaign were set in motion during the spring meeting of the Chief Executive Board of the United Nations in Madrid. A cooperation agreement was signed between UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, and UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov, in the presence of United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.

    The joint campaign, to be launched later this year, aims to raise awareness among international tourists about the types of illicit goods and services to which they are often exposed during their travels and which directly or indirectly fund organized crime groups.

    Travellers can play a key role in reducing demand for these products through ethical consumer choices. The campaign will encourage tourists to make informed decisions and help reduce demand for trafficking in persons, cultural artefacts, wildlife, fauna and flora such as ivory products, as well as counterfeit goods, and illicit drugs.

    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended this innovative joint initiative between the two partner UN agencies: “The illegal trade in goods and services often funds unscrupulous people involved in human trafficking, the illicit ivory trade and other areas that cause immense suffering and destruction. Well-informed tourists can make a real difference in turning the tide against these criminal acts.”

    Organized criminal networks generate money wherever there is demand and travellers are often exposed to objects which are illicitly sold. With more than 1 billion tourists now crossing international borders each year, there is a growing opportunity to call on tourists to act and reduce demand for these illicit products which in many cases are providing a funding source for organized crime.

    The campaign drives the message that while some products may seem harmless, the demand created and their sale can, in fact, have devastating effects on the lives of innocent people, on wildlife or on cultural property. The billions of dollars generated through such trade also fund criminal groups who use this money to branch out into other illicit and unethical lines of business.

  • ‘Users will pay toll if services are good’

    ‘Users will pay toll if services are good’

    The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) minds public infrastructure and lists those that should be commissioned to provide better services. Its Acting Director-General, Dr. Ghali I. Bello, in this interview with our Assistant Editor, Nduka Chiejina, speaks of his vision for ICRC, the challenges and the controversy surrounding Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects.

     What do we expect, now that you are at the helm of affairs?

    For us to make a difference, we need to understand who we are and what our mission entails. Once we are clear on these, we would then assess what we have achieved within the short time that the commission has been operational.

    Primarily, the ICRC was set up through an Act of Parliament in 2005 to fill the gap in infrastructure deficit which our country is experiencing. We wake up in Nigeria to no light, no airlines, children don’t have good schools, no good hospitals, we lack most of the things that make an economy to function. Actually, we have them, but they are not in the best form.

    ICRC was set up to provide those goods and services, which ordinarily the government ought to provide, so the best option was to get the private sector to come and partner with us to deliver those services that ordinarily the government ought to provide.

    Old infrastructure have deteriorated and the government is not in a position to provide them, so the commission was set up to partner with the private sector on PPP basis to deliver those goods and services that otherwise the government should provide.

    The former board of the ICRC was a unique and powerful board, with a former Head of the Interim National Government, Ernest Shonekan, as the chairman.

    In addition, you have almost all the key players in the government on the board, like the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Minister of Finance, the Attorney- General of the Federation, the Governor of the CBN and the DG as the secretary of the board. Also included were six others from the private sector who were selected on competence basis from the six geo-political zones. That board did its best and you have to realise that during the time, we had to start from ground zero.

    So, what will you do differently?

    The perception of the commission outside is that the ICRC is not known by many people. Philips Consulting carried out an on-line survey of about 1000 people, and 57 per cent say they have never heard of ICRC

    I would like to make ICRC more visible to the outside world by reaching out to the people. I would like to bring ICRC to the fore.

    So, we need to let the public know that we are here to serve them and make a difference in their lives. To do these, I must consolidate on what the former board did and further that by creating a general awareness within the country.

    We also want to work closely with the MDAs to assist them develop the needed infrastructure. The MDAs are the owners of the projects we are to regulate and we have been able to get a buy-in from the MDAs. There was a circular passed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Head of Service of the Federation directing all MDAs to create PPP units. It’s a new concept and like everything new, there will be resistance to it, so if one is able to bring to the attention of the public that this institution exists to serve the interest of the public, I think we would have been able to create some level of difference in that direction.

    We want to sensitise the public that this institution exists to serve them. In summary, we want to really raise the profile of the organisation and bring the MDAs to appreciate that we are partners. We want to create a scenario whereby at the end of the day the infrastructure deficit will be addressed in the interest of the country.

    We want to develop the regulations because as an agency of the government. We have to develop regulations and provide and issue the guidelines as a regulator. At present, I do not think we have developed any guidelines for any sector of the economy in the last four years. So, we have to develop guidelines for the power sector, ICT, transportation, port concession, as well as for about 12 sectors as provided for in the Act setting up the ICRC.

    We have a lot of work to do to deliver on these mandates and by His grace (if we are permitted to be around in the next couple of months), we will turn things around and create more consciousness in the mind of the public about the ICRC and this will go a long way to make us achieve what we are set up to do.

    Concessioning infrastructure will lead to tolling or imposing tariff on these  infrastructure and many Nigerians may not like the idea of paying tolls on these public infrastructure. What is your commission doing to balance tolling these infrastructure and allowing the concessioneers to make profit from their investment?

    I don’t think Nigerians don’t like paying tolls, stakeholders’ consultation is important when public infrastructure are to be tolled. People will pay if the service is good and alternatives are provided so that they can migrate to other alternatives. A good example is the public school system, people withdraw their children from public schools to private schools where they pay more because the services are better. The PPP is a good concept that is new and because it is new, it will have resistance and also by its nature it has a long gestation period.

    How would you react to the controversies that have engulfed some critical PPP projects in the country?

    There are conditions for terminating agreements and these are usually contained in the terms of the contract that any member of the contract can terminate the agreement based on certain conditions.

    The ICRC has been shy in taking a definite position on certain issues, such as the Marvis/Aviation PPP saga, and the revocation of the Ibadan Expressway project. Why is this so?

    I wouldn’t say the ICRC has been shy in taking a definite position on these matters. In all these issues, the position of the ICRC has always been clear. As a regulator, we are supposed to be an impartial umpire which means that we are not supposed to align with any of the contending parties. We are expected to look at issues without bias to either parties and proffer solutions.

    The award of the contract of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was done before 2008 well before the inauguration of the last ICRC board. The issue surrounding that project pre-dates the ICRC. We are new and we didn’t want to mire ourselves in controversy. The award of that project by the Obasanjo administration was done with the best of intentions. Though there was a contract awarded for the job, it did not reach financial closure. The project was awarded and nobody wanted to put up the money, that was why Babalakin could not go outside to pick money for the project, but the intention to do it cannot be doubted by anybody because it is the major track that links the South to the rest of the country.

    What was the specific role of the ICRC on the Lagos-Ibadan/Bi-Courtney controversy?

    The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway concession pre-dated the ICRC, the commission advised that procedures were not followed and that was the saving grace for the ICRC. If we were to do it on PPP there were things to do and unless you do those things, it will not fly. I think we have been vindicated because it didn’t fly.

    What about the Lagos Trade Fair Complex and Marvis contract?

    I think I have a little bit of consultation to do on that. I have a general idea but since you are asking me for specifics, I don’t want to give you information that is inaccurate.

    As a regulator can’t you put your foot down and take a stand on some of these issues instead of just advising that procedures were not followed?

    One of the reasons we have not been able to put our feet down, is because we do not have enforcement powers. This is because there is regulation in place. Once the regulation is in place that empowers us to enforce, we will act. As I have told you, we have not developed the regulations and with no regulations, how are we going to enforce the rules because the regulations have to pass through different stages to get approval and stipulate sanction for different forms of violations? In addition, the regulations have to be comprehensive to spell out the sanctions for violations. With the regulations in place, we will become more effective regulators.

    How soon are we going to see the regulations in place?

    This is not something you do over night, but since we have a clear idea of where  we are headed, we are going to put the machinery in motion to develop the regulations. As you know, to develop the regulations, you need to have to conceptualise, carry out extensive consultations, get the input of stake holders. After that, we will be re required to pass it on to the Federal Ministry of Justice to go through and see if it reflects what it is supposed to be. Once they are satisfied, we pass it on to Mr President  for final approval.

    Do you mean there will be no new PPP projects until this process is over?

    Development is not something you do overnight, it is something that is incremental. We are not just going to focus on regulations and say give us two or three years to develop the regulations. No! While we are doing these, we will also continue with the other functions of our mandate. For instance, we will be developing the human skills gap which at present do not exist in the MDAs. We would also be coordinating with the MDAs closely such that they will be able to develop the projects that will be taken to the market, so while they are developing the projects for the market, we would also be enhancing the capacity of the MDAs and consulting with development partners to come up with the regulations.

    Recently, the steering committee of the National Infrastructure Master Plan was inaugurated and the director-general of the ICRC is the co-chair of that committee. What should we expect from that committee?

    First of all, you look at the history of our country. In the past we used to have development plans, then all of a sudden that was truncated, especially following the intervention of the military. Now what we are seeing is that evidence abound that most of the countries we are trying to copy, like Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc sit down to strategise for a long time. They have short, medium and long term strategic plans and ask themselves what can we do as a country  and where we want to project ourselves in the next five, 15, or 20 years as a country. Anybody who fails to plan, plans to fail. If we are able to have this infrastructure master plan, it will enable the development of the country to work systematically in a manner and also enable us to prioritise.

    There are islands of plans in the ministries, but they are not talking to one another and we have abandoned projects simply because they were not planned. However, if we are able to get all the ministries to state their long term goals and we are able to synchronise these goals and they speak to one another, chances are that the issue of abandonment of projects will stop. There will be investments in all these sectors because investors will be speaking to one another. There will be planning and coordination which will guide us in our development. But in the absence of that, every minister will just come do what he or she wants and leave.

    But in other countries, when one minister leaves, his predecessor takes over from where that old one stopped. If Vision 2010 had been implemented, we would not be where we are today.

    Section 2 (4) of the ICRC Act states that the commission should publish projects that are eligible for PPP, but in the last four years, we have not seen such publications. Why?

    Yes, that is because in the last four years, the last board was pre-occupied with setting up the framework and mapping out the way we want to move forward at that point in time. It was too early to publish the projects because even the projects were not in place. The ideas were there, but they were not coordinated. People were happy to have PPP. They want to participate in PPP projects, but when they discover that the process is not that easy, they will back off. Gradually, as you move along, you will have what is known as a learning curve. On our part, it was not that there was no effort, but rather, it was because the concept was new. Now people are beginning to buy into the idea of PPP and trying to understand what is to be done. Projects are coming on board and we are working closely with the MDAs and we have reached an advanced stage and very shortly, we should be able to publish what projects we have. The present crop of leadership wants to make an impact.

    If your board is confirmed, what will you do to encourage local businesses and entrepreneur to participate in PPP projects?

    The beauty of PPP, which escapes most people is that when we talk of PPP people have this big picture of the projects. They don’t know that there can be PPP to even build a hostel. We will encourage investment and make people know what PPP is all about, so that they can deepen it. We also have to break down the mystery. It can be down on a small scale even at the local level, but all these cannot be done unless you have the knowledge. Right now, if you do a survey, not many people know about ICRC, let alone know what the mandate of the ICRC is all about. We will make activities known to the people and creating the enabling environment in relationship with other agencies of the government, because creating the enabling environment is not a one man, or one agency show. For example, we want to know how we can utilise pension funds to finance infrastructure development. One thing about investment is that when people know that an investment will bring money, they will go for it.

    Nigerians have a lot of expectation with regards to infrastructure provision. What message do you have for Nigerians and the ideas that you are bringing in as you assume office?

    There is genuine desire to, on our part, transform the landscape so that people know what PPP is all about and also know that this institution is there for them. Secondly, we will collaborate with stakeholders to bring the benefit to the fore, with the right mindset and attitude, people are collaborating and will soon begin to bring out the dividends. I am convinced that very soon, things will begin to change.

     

  • Arik, Emirate Touch Aviation Services sign lease agreement

    Arik, Emirate Touch Aviation Services sign lease agreement

    Arik Air and Emirate Touch Aviation Services Limited have signed a lease agreement for the airlines’ two Boeing 737-300 aircraft.

    The Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (ACMI) agreement was signed in Lagos last week by the Chairman of Arik Air, Sir Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide and Director-General, Emirate Touch Aviation Services, Prince Isa Bayero.

    Under the terms of the agreement, Arik Air is leasing its two B737-300 aircraft (5N-MJA and 5N-MJB) to Emirate Aviation Services for cargo operations.

    Sir Arumemi-Ikhide said the event was significant because it marked the first time the airline was going into such an agreement with a Nigerian company. “We are pleased with this lease agreement. As a world class airline. Our mission is to build alliances and partnerships and increase capacity in the industry.”

    Prince Bayero said he was elated to partner with the leading indigenous carrier in Nigeria and hoped this would help increase capacity in the industry as envisioned by the founders of Arik Air.

    “This is a landmark agreement that will stimulate the growth of cargo operations in Nigeria and points beyond,” Prince Bayero said.

  • ‘Nigeria needs farm-focused financial services’

    Challenges facing food production requires focused financial services strategy as part of a diversified approach to farming, an expert, Dr Hyde Ochia has said.

    Ochia, who is the Chairman, Southsouth Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the economy needs a focused financial system that offers expert financial planning advice to farmers for both personal and business matters, such as protection, pensions, investments and inheritance tax planning.

    Farmers, he said, make large and important contributions to domestic food production and need all forms of financial incentives to stimulate agricultural growth.

    He said continued innovation in finance initiatives and banking, linked to the mainstream financial institutions, are needed to extend financial services to farmers at scale.

     

     

     

     

  • NAMA to begin 24-hour services at three airports

    The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) will start 24-hour air traffic management services at three airports next month.

    According to its Managing Director, Mr Nnamdi Udoh, the airports are Yola, Owerri and Enugu.

    He said the decision was taken after consultation with the authorities.

    The agency, he said, would take off after the installation of air field lightings.

    He said NAMA would negotiate with the airport authority and airline operators who wish to operate night flights at the airports.

    He said: “The reason we are creating 24-hour operations is to take care of late operations at such airports. Such airlines will have to pay NAMA money, but if I make it 24 hours, I think that more planes will come and pay money. So, declaring 24 hours is good; that was what informed our decision. We want to provide manpower; we want to make more airlines to fly.

    “It will help to take care of situations were airlines do not have to get worried once it is 6 pm. Pilots do not need to be running around because you want to go and land in Owerri before they close. We are going to make all these airports 24 hours from March when the manpower is available.

    “There will be notice to airmen for the airports. Critical among them is Yola, Owerri and Enugu. We want to do that so that the airlines can schedule their operations. We will talk with them and find out which airport they want and any airport any operator wants will be available 24 hours.There is no point keeping it open and we don’t use it because most of those airports run on diesel.”

  • Emirates upgrades services

    Emirates Airlines will add more than 1,400 seats a week on its Dar es Salaam-Dubai route by introducing a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from February 1.

    The Airbus 340-500 deployed on one of Dar es Salaam’ daily flight, according to a statement, will be replaced with a larger Boeing 777-300ER, giving 40 per cent boost to seat capacity.

    “Dar es Salaam is one of East Africa’s most popular destinations and the introduction of the new Boeing 777 is a direct response to increasing passenger demand on this route,” said Jean Luc Grillet, Emirates Senior Vice President Commercial Operations for Africa. “Emirates carried 148,000 passengers on flights to and from Dar es Salaam in 2012. With the new Boeing 777 service we expect this to noticeably grow as our customers continue to explore the opportunities Emirates’ global network has to offer.”

    The new aircraft, according the statement, has 360 seats in a three-class configuration offering eight luxurious First Class suits, 42 seats in Business Class and generous space for 310 passengers in Economy Class.

    In addition to carrying more passengers, the operation of the new aircraft will also have a positive impact on Tanzania’s import and export industry.

  • Investment One promises one-stop investment services

    •Key indicators return northwards

     

    GTB Asset Management Limited (GTBAM) at the weekend changed its name to Investment One Financial Services Limited with a promise to create a one-stop investment services that meet all the requirements and peculiarities of all investors.

    The name change followed the sale through management buy out (MBO) of the former investment and wealth management subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc. The divestment by GTBank was in compliance with the new regulatory regime of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    CBN’s Scope of Banking Activities and Ancillary Matters No 3, 2010 requires banks to fully concentrate on core banking functions. The new model requires banks to either sell all non-core banking businesses or form a holding company to hold such non-core banking businesses including activities such as insurance, asset management and capital market operations.

    Most banks including GTBank, Access Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, Sterling Bank, Zenith Bank, Unity Bank and Wema Bank have chosen to divest from non-banking subsidiaries. GTBank had earlier sold its insurance subsidiary Guaranty Trust Assurance, which subsequently changed its name to Mansard Insurance

    Investment One Financial Services Limited is now owned by management and staff of the company and few select investors that share the philosophies of excellence and service that form the core values of GTBank and its former subsidiaries.

    Speaking during the announcement of corporate rebirth in Lagos, managing director, Investment One Financial Services Limited, Mr Nicholas Nyamali said the company remains essentially the same in terms of its adherence to the tradition, vision and values that have been its guiding light since its formation as a subsidiary of GTBank.

    He said Investment One would build on its pedigree as an investment and wealth management firm of choice noting that except for the exit of executive directors of GTBank from the board of the company, Investment One was a full complement of the human resources, technologies and know-how of GTBAM.

    “The name ‘Investment One’ mirrors our desire to be a one-stop shop for comprehensive investment services and the first point of call for insightful and innovative financial solutions. The name also reflects the firms’ strategic positioning as a service-oriented firm that is responsive to the investment needs of its customers,”

    He pointed out that the firm’s payoff-forward thinking investment solutions, underscores its commitment to delivering financial services solutions backed by its long-standing core values of service excellence, innovation and market insight to individual and institutional investors.

    He noted that the firm’s chain of services from advisory to brokerage, fund management and trusteeship allow it to meet the lifetime investment requirements of all investors adding that the company’s innovative products allow low-income and high-income earners to participate in the investment marketplace.

    “With the rebranding, the company’s business is further broadened to deliver exceptional investment solutions in advising, executing, managing or transferring wealth to future generations, through its full complement of investment solutions,” Nyamali said.

    Nyamali said Investment One would commit itself to investment education and inculcation of savings and investment habits in the people pointing out that adequate knowledge about investment opportunities would empower the people.

    Meanwhile, investors last week staked N8.89 billion on 1.22 billion shares through 18,902 deals on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The banking subsector was the most active during the week with a turnover of 471.559 million shares worth N3.856 billion in 7,836 deals.

    Turnover in the banking subsector was driven by activities in the shares of Access Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc, which altogether accounted 185.284 million shares, representing 15.83 per cent of the total turnover recorded during the week.

    The overall share pricing trend was positive with both the benchmark index and aggregate market value on the upswing. The All Share Index (ASI)- which tracks prices of all quoted companies, trended upward by 0.65 per cent from opening index of 26,322.18 points to close the week at 26,494.44 points. Total market capitalization of listed equities improved by 1.01 per cent to NN8.466 trillion as against its opening value of N8.381 trillion.

     

  • Collapsed bridge delays train services

    The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC)has said that the collapse of the a railway bridge in Minna, had stalled the movement of goods and passenger services train from Lagos to Kano.

    The Managing Director of the corporation,Mr Adeseyi Sijuade, disclosed this when the Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, led the Good Governance Team on a visit to the area.

    The team visited the completed project site of the two railway bridges that were washed away by flood three years ago.

    Sijuade said that the two collapsed railway bridges at Akere,had now been completed and certified by the government inspector of railway.

    “The good news is that it was earlier this week that the government inspector of railway certified the completion of the Akere Bridge.

    “Starting from next week, we will introduce our goods and passenger services train from Lagos to Zungeru.

    According to him, trains currently move from Minna to Kano.

    He, however, said that the current problem was the collapsed bridge at Minna.

    “The problem now is a collapsed railway bridge at Minna which is being addressed.

    “Once it is done in the next three weeks, trains can now move from Lagos to Kano,’’

    Responding, Maku said that the visit had shown that the Federal Government was sincere in its promise of reviving the rail transport system in order to ease pressure on the roads and boost economic activities in the country.

    “What we did today was a demonstration ride to confirm to Nigerians that the rehabilitation of the railway has moved from Lagos to Zungeru in Niger state.

    “It means that we can now move our goods and services regularly from Lagos to Zungeru due to the completion of the rehabilitation of Akere bridge,’’ he said.

    The minister expressed optimism that by the end of November, the rehabilitation work would be completed between Zungeru and Minna, to enable trains to move directly from Lagos to Kano.

    Also speaking, Malam Mohammed Garba, the National President of the NUJ, praised the Federal Government for reviving the rail transport to ease pressure on the roads, thereby boosting economic activities in the country.

    “The NUJ strongly believes that if there is one area where Mr President is doing well, it is in the area of rail transport.

    “We are really impressed with the high quality job,” Garba said.

     

  • Uduaghan orders free medical services in affected communities

    Uduaghan orders free medical services in affected communities

    DELTA State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan yesterday ordered the provision of free medical services for residents of all the affected communities in the state.

    He gave the other at a meeting with political appointees in Asaba, where he said all the hospitals in the state as well as mobile clinics have been instructed to provide free medical services to the victims.

    According to him, his government would bear the burden of medical treatment because the flood has exposed victims to shock and other health hazards they could not cope with.

    His words: “Some of the victims are in a state of shock and they have lost almost everything. The situation has put them into critical health conditions and we have elected to foot the bill of their medical treatment to relieve them of tension.

    The doctors and nurses have been instructed to treat patients free. The hospitals have been adequately stocked with drugs.”

    Uduaghan directed the committee managing the flood situation to take proper statistics of victims, their locations and properties to guide the government in post-flood planning.

    Saying that accurate data would aid planning, the governor described what has been done so far as fire brigade approach to provide as much succor as possible to the victims.

    He said: “Data is important for planning and we should not toy with it. Let us get the proper statistics of men and materials displaced to enable us plan for future. We need it to guide us even now especially for the provision of relief materials.”

    He spoke of his administration’s plan to approach the House of Assembly for budgetary provisions for flood control and relief materials.

    According to him, the government has not released any special fund for the management of the situation.

    Uduaghan expressed the fear that the flood disaster would be longer than expected and predicted that it could go beyond November, as he appealed to residents to prepare for more floods.

    He appealed for donation from public-spirited individuals, corporate bodies and multinational oil companies to enable the state cope with the increasing crowd that have been displaced.