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A survey conducted by Task Force on ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme has identified collection of illegal fees by government agencies, existence of multiple government agencies and checkpoints as major factors inhibiting smooth trade across borders.
According to the survey, the slowness of the procedure for getting the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) certifications, existence of prohibition list that contains some ETLS approved products as well as the existence of several standards with NAFDAC and SON, also frustrate across border trade along the corridor.
The survey, presented in Lagos on Wednesday by Moustapha Gnankambary, permanent secretary of the ETLS Task Force at a day sensitisation workshop organised by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NCS) in collaboration with the Borderless Alliance, said the limitations reduce the ability of the national economies of the member countries to attract investment, create jobs and wealth and improve the standard of the living of the people.
Gnankambary, who pointed to the fact that the factors have caused the intra-regional trade to remain poor at between 10 and 20 percent, also said governments of member states also lose huge revenue to low trade growth.
He disclosed that the survey had recommended the need for educating security agencies on the clear demarcation between trade facilitation and free movement as well as the security of persons and goods along the corridor.
“There is need for the adoption and application of clear sanction mechanisms against member states and defaulting officers. There is also need for the removal of obstacles such as import bans as well as tariff and non-tariff barriers to cross border trade,” the survey noted.
Gnankambary said there was need to promote the consumption of products and services produced in West African countries to boost job creation and further help to promote regional integration.
“We need to harmonise the documentation used in intra-regional trade in three ECOWAS official languages. Apart from abolishing the abnormal practices and obstacles to cross border trade along the corridor, there was also need to accelerate the issuance of the ECOWAS biometric identity cards by member states,” he said.
Justin Bayili, executive secretary of Borderless Alliance, who said Nigeria must remove all non-tariff barriers that frustrate smooth trade across borders, if the country must move from being an oil dependent country to opening up other sectors of the economy, added that more investments would be attracted and jobs as well as wealth created.
Reacting to this, Taju Olanrewaju, chairman of the event, suggested the need for another engagement that would bring agencies like SON and NAFDAC as well as the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to come and tell the trading community of the efforts put in place to address the issues highlighted around their operations that hinder smooth trade across borders.
He pointed out the urgent need for SON and NAFDAC to reduce the cumbersome procedures that slows the collection of their certifications.
