Substantial amounts of money are lost in Africa Sea Ports mainly due to the corrupt nature of sea port authority, inefficiencies, and poor infrastructure, among others. Corruption practices within the Africa seaports has affected economic growth and slowed the clearance and forwarding of goods.
Many port authorities only release profit figures which is a tiny fraction of actual losses, while their major looses are kept secretly. Most port authorities websites are reluctant to updated their information on losses in real-time for fear of scrutiny. The profit and
loss statements that summarize the revenues, costs and expenses accrued are shrouded in secrecy.
A classical example are customs officials at Lagos Port, one of Africa’s busiest ports, said the port generated revenue of $1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2022. But a joint report by the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN), a global sea trade and shipping group, and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that Nigeria loses U.S.$7 billion annually to corruption and inefficiency, according to Nigeria business news.
Separately, in the 2020/2021 report, MACN identified Nigeria as one of the most challenging countries to do business. The organization said corrupt demands posed a significant risk to member companies that faced extortion, harassment, and threats of violence. Regulations
and procedures in ports were lacking in detail and consistency, giving authorities broad discretionary powers.
The Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN), in it effort to curtail malpractices in Seaports launched a helpdesk and an anonymous reporting system for distress vessels, which it claimed is tackling corruption in Seaports.
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