Economy

Dry Ports Cannot Work Without Rail Connection – Experts

Published

7 years ago

January 4, 2018

Dry Ports Cannot Work Without Rail Connection – Experts

The Inland Dry Seaports also known as Inland Container Depots cannot work if they are not connected to rail, according to stakeholders in the maritime sector.

The ICDs are freight stations established by the Federal Government in areas where there is no quick access to seaports.

They are like seaports located in the rural hinterland with all the loading and off-loading equipment needed to handle containers which are brought to the depots by rail or road.

According to the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, six locations have been approved for the ICDs which were given through concession to private sector operators by the ICD Implementation Committee of the Federal Ministry of Transportation.

The locations are said to include Isiala Ngwa, Aba, Erunmu, Ibadan, Heipang, Jos, Zawachiki, Kano, Zamfarawa, Funtua, Jauri and Maiduguri.

The council had announced that President Muhammadu Buhari would inaugurate the first ICD in Kaduna on Thursday (today).

The Kaduna Area Officer of the NSC, Bala Adamu, said in May that the manifest for cargoes destined for the ICD Kaduna would read ‘Lagos/Kaduna’, meaning that such cargoes would first land in the Lagos port from where they would be moved to the Kaduna ICD without examination.

The Director of Special Duties, NSC, Ignatius Nweke, was quoted in a statement as saying that the facility had the capacity to handle 29,000 tonnes of cargoes yearly and was expected to generate over 5,000 direct employments at the commencement of operations.

But the Chairman, International Freight Forwarders Association, Mr. Sunny Nnebe, argued that unless the depots were linked to rail system, they would not serve the purpose for which they were established.

The Coordinator of Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders, Dr. Osita Chukwu, observed that of all the seaports in Nigeria, only Apapa had been linked to rail line, noting that unless the situation improved, the government was just wasting money on the dry ports.

“The roads are bad; the only effective way to make use of container depots would be through rail connecting the depots and the seaports, otherwise cargo still has to be transported through the bad roads to the dry ports with all the attendant challenges,” he noted.

The President, Shippers Association of Lagos State, Jonathan Nicol, said that for the ICDs to succeed, the government had to provide the necessary infrastructure, including good rail and road networks.

Nicole said, “Our rail system from Apapa Port/Tin Can Island Port must be operational. It is a starting point for the ICD unless we want to move those containers, which do not make sense to me, by road and you are not bringing them to another terminal. It will be very expensive to do so.

“The ICDs are set up when you have a workable railway system and that is what I will advise the government to do, especially in Apapa where we have railway facility. Once it is working, then, your ICD will succeed. But in the absence of that, there will be bottlenecks here and there.”

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Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Economy

FIRS VAT Revenue Surges to N1.56 Trillion in Q2 2024 Amid Economic Struggles

Published

2 days ago

September 10, 2024

Samed Olukoya

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) generated N1.56 trillion in Value Added Tax (VAT) in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, according to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

This represents an increase of 9.11% compared to the N1.43 trillion reported in the first quarter of 2024.

A breakdown of the report showed that local VAT payments accounted for N792.58 billion of the total amount generated, while foreign VAT payments stood at N395.74 billion, and import VAT contributed N372.95 billion.

A quarterly analysis of the report revealed that human health and social work activities recorded the highest growth rate with 98.44%. This was followed by agriculture, forestry, and fishing with 70.26%, and water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities with 59.75%.

On the other hand, activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use had the lowest growth rate with –46.84%, followed by real estate activities with –42.59%.

Sectoral analysis showed that the manufacturing sector contributed the most at 11.78%. Information and communication and mining and quarrying contributed 9.02% and 8.79%, respectively.

Nevertheless, activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use recorded the least share with 0.00%, followed by activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies with 0.01%, and water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities and real estate services with 0.04% each.

On a year-on-year basis, VAT collections grew by 99.82% from Q2 2023 despite ongoing economic challenges.

Nigeria’s inflation rate remains well above 30 percent, while new job creation is almost nonexistent.

Other key economic factors, such as investor sentiment, the purchasing managers’ index, and consumer spending, remain weak amid intermittent protests by citizens demanding improvements in quality of life.

Economy

Nigeria Sees 9.11% Increase in VAT Revenue, Generating N1.56 Trillion in Q2 2024

Published

3 days ago

September 9, 2024

Investors King

The federal government in the second quarter of 2024 generated a total of N1.56 trillion from Value Added Tax. This is a 9.11 percent increase from the N1.43 trillion in Q1 2024.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics report, local payments recorded were N792.58 billion, foreign VAT payments were N395.74 billion, while import VAT contributed N372.95 billion in Q2 2024.

“On a quarter-on-quarter basis, human health and social work activities recorded the highest growth rate with 98.44%, followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing with 70.26%, and water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities with 59.75%,” NBS reported.

“On the other hand, activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods and services producing activities of households for own use had the lowest growth rate with 46.84%, followed by Real estate activities with 42.59%.

“In terms of sectoral contributions, the top three largest shares in Q2 2024 were
manufacturing with 11.78%; information and communication with 9.02%; and Mining and quarrying with 8.79%.

“Nevertheless, activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use recorded the least share with 0.00%, followed by activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies with 0.01%; and Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities with and real estate services 0.04% each.

“However, on a year-on-year basis, VAT collections in Q2 2024 increased by 99.82% from Q2 2023.”

Economy

Finance Minister Denies VAT Hike, Confirms Rate Remains at 7.5%

Published

3 days ago

September 9, 2024

Investors King

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, on Monday, debunked reports doing the rounds that the rate for Value-Added Tax (VAT) has been upwardly adjusted to 10% from 7.5%.

The Minister, in a statement signed by him, affirmed that VAT rate as contained in relevant tax laws and chargeable on goods and services remains 7.5%.

“The current VAT rate is 7.5% and this is what government is charging on a spectrum of goods and services to which the tax is applicable. Therefore, neither the Federal Government nor any of its agencies will act contrary to what our laws stipulate.

“The tax system stands on a tripod, namely tax policy, tax laws and tax administration. All the three must combine well to give us a sound system that gives vitality to the fiscal position of government.

“Our focus as a government is to use fiscal policy in a manner that promotes and enhances strong and sustainable economic growth, reduces poverty as well as makes businesses to flourish.

“The imputation in some media reports on the issue of VAT and the opinion articles that have sprouted from them seem to wrongly convey the impression that government is out to make life difficult for Nigerians. That is not correct. If anything, the Federal Government has, through its policies, demonstrated that it is committed to creating a congenial environment for businesses to thrive.

“In fact, it is on record that the Federal Government, as part of efforts to bring relief to Nigerians and businesses, recently ordered the stoppage of import duties, tariffs and taxes on rice, wheat, beans and other food items.

“For emphasis, as of today, VAT remains 7.5% and that is what will be charged on all the goods and services that are VAT-able,” Edun said