The National
Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the Lagos State Waterways Authority
(LASWA) on Tuesday agreed to work together for a more efficient waterway
transportation in Lagos State.
It would be
recalled that both regulatory agencies had been at loggerheads over who had
regulatory authority of water transportation operations in the state.
NIWA and
LASWA made their position known at a joint stakeholders meeting held with
members of the Association of Tourists Boat Operators and Water Transporters Of
Nigeria (ATBOWATON) at the PROTEA Hotel, Lagos.
The Lagos
Area Manager, NIWA, Mr Muazu Sambo, told the gathering that NIWA and LASWA
would henceforth work within a joint monitoring team that would operate as one.
He said the
joint operation by the agencies would ensure that operators complied with set
standards for efficient service and safety of passengers, to as much as
possible, check the incessant boat mishaps.
He noted
that the root cause of a number of the boat mishaps had been due to lack of
standardization, where operators deployed all manner of boats for their
operations.
He, however,
assured that once the NIWA Code is gazette, defaulters to operational
guidelines would face the law appropriately, in order to assure the public of
the safety of water transportation.
The Managing
Director of LASWA, Engr. Abisola Kamson, also said that the collaboration would
ensure improvement in water transportation for the users of the facility in
Lagos State.
OnepageAfrica
reports that both agencies agreed that the issue of multiple taxation was
settled and done with as they would share the charging platform to avoid same
charges on operators.
On their
part, the operators tasked the regulatory agencies on the need for
infrastructural improvement and creation of enabling environment to support
their operations.
Faulting
some of the proposed standards for commercial boat operations, Chief Wellington
Ilori, the Executive State Chairman of ATBOWATON, said the different areas in
Lagos demand different kinds of boats.
He said that
would make it difficult to comply with a single specification, adding that
insistence on such standard may send many operators packing.
Responding,
the LASWA Managing Director said the technical committee of the agencies would
definitely have a review, but that the operations originally were categorized
under Urban and Rural Areas, and Charter Services.
Sambo,
however stated that wooden boats had no place in their planned operations, as
there is need for improvement even though they considered the interest of the
operators.
He said that
government’s first interest is to build standards to make things work, while he
held on to the proposal to have a manifest on board the travelling craft,
though a number of the operators argued otherwise.
The
regulatory authorities had proposed a 15-point operational standards for
commercial boat operations on Lagos waterways.
Some of the
regulations covered boat specification, insurance cover, speed limits, hours of
operation, navigational aids, speedometer, safety accessories, periodic boat
inspection and certification of the boat drivers.
In his
response, National President of ATBOWATON, Mr Tarzan Balogun, said government
should first sanitise the inland waterways by clearing the wrecks in the water,
channelize the routes and put up signage to guide people.
Also, on
behalf of the association, Balogun requested that government should set up a
fuel station at the NIWA Marina Jetty to save them troubles of redundancy
during fuel scarcity periods.
The
operators appealed to the regulatory agencies that the enforcement period for
the operational standards be pushed forward well beyond an initial 60 days’
time that was proposed.