FG Calls on NIMASA to Enhance Maritime Capacity
The Bureau of Public Service Reforms has urged the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency to enhance safe, secure shipping, cleaner oceans and maritime capacity in line with best global practices.
The BPSR also said that NIMASA has been promoted to the silver level after scoring 74 per cent in performance.
According to a statement by the BPSR, this was announced in its summary report on the deployment of the BPSR self-assessment tool, presented to the management of NIMASA by the Director General of the BPSR, Mr Arabi Dasuki.
The statement further said that NIMASA had also been promoted to level 2, which implied that the agency’s performance met expectations in essential areas of responsibility, resulting in an overall quality of work that was generally good, with the most critical organisational goals met.
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The BPSR boss appreciated the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh for his exemplary leadership and strong desire for optimal performance and reform to ensure NIMASA’s systems and operations remain strong.
In his words, “We are indeed impressed by the openness, professionalism and decorum the staff exhibited throughout the duration of the exercise. It is an assurance that under your watch and guidance, there are rejuvenated change agents who will help you to accomplish and break new grounds as far as your mandate is concerned.
“I will like to state that the award accompanying the report would help to stimulate the insatiable desire to be the best to achieve safe, secure shipping, cleaner oceans and enhanced maritime capacity in line with best global practices towards Nigeria’s economic development.”
He added that the key areas of strength for NIMASA as contained in the report of BPSR include corporate governance; which ensured the establishment of an anti-corruption policy with an entrenched whistle-blower mechanism for the agency, strategic planning and operational leadership, robust and accounting policies that comply with financial regulations of the Federal Government.
“This is in addition to a fully functional procurement process, which has keyed into the e-procurement policy of the Federal Government.”
The BPSR also listed operational and service delivery processes of NIMASA, human resource management, partnership and resource mobilisation as key performance management and results, as some areas the agency had excelled in when compared with some other agencies of government.
Earlier, NIMASA DG, Jamoh, assured the team that the agency’s management would ensure the implementation of all recommendations contained in the report.
He added that much progress had been made since 2022 when the SAT was deployed.
“We have made much progress in the past one year. Our automation process has advanced much more within the past 12 months. NIMASA has introduced a customer experience centre, which has greatly improved our ease of doing business as an organisation.
“We have also acquired new vessels for both staff welfare and operational monitoring and enforcement purposes. Just as we accepted the recommendations of the International Maritime Organisation Member State Audit Scheme and worked towards closing all identified gaps, NIMASA will strive to implement recommendations contained in the report submitted to us today,” he said.
