Nigerian Cabotage: Its Policy, Prospects and Challenges
The purpose of this study is to critically examine the Nigerian Cabotage Law and its policy. It will look at what Nigeria stand to benefit by enacting the Law. It is a fact that some countries attempt certain policies in order to experiment, as to whether it will work for them and then they tap into its exploits. Others venture into specific policies because some have successfully experimented and they believe they can do it too. Whatever category Nigeria falls into, the study will attempt to analyze the policy upon which the Nigerian Cabotage law is anchored. It will examine the issue of Ministerial waiver in the event that there are no indigenous capacities to carry out the objectives as spelt out in the Act. It will also examine the various challenges encountered at different stages of implementation. The study contends that what Nigeria stand to gain by Cabotage transcends what she will lose if the law is not given birth to. It concludes that if the implementation guidelines are jealously adhered to and the enforcements are strictly followed, Cabotage has the potentials of becoming a great rivalry to Oil and Gas Industry in Nigeria. Keywords: Nigeria, Cabotage, Maritime, NIMASA, Shipping
Problems and Prospects of Developing Inland Water Transportation in Nigeria : The Case of Calabar River 1 Tpl
This study is aimed at assessing the problems and prospects of developing inland water transportation in Nigeria with Calabar River as a case study. The development of Calabar River as one of the inland water transportation system in Nigeria has been faced with many challenges. They include: lack of infrastructural development, poor funding, lack of dredging and poor maintenance. The study adopted the survey research design, stratified sampling technique was used in selecting the sampled population of the study. Data for the study were sourced through secondary and primary sources (eg. Questionnaire administration, oral interview and personal observation. A total number of four hundred (400) questionnaires were administered in the study area and 350 were retrieved. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was adopted in the test of hypothesis which produced the following result (r = -1.15; tc = -1.51;tt = 2.78 at 00.05 sig level & d/f 4).The findings revealed that there was no significant relationship between the provision of inland transportation facilities/services and level of socio-economic development and in the study area. The study also revealed that the development of the water transportation system in the area could have positive impact on trade and commerce, job creation, revenue generation, provide tourism etc. Finally, government policies should be made to focus on the proper development and maintenance of inland water ways in the area.There was also need for private sector or community involvement in fostering development, maintenance and sustainability of inland water transportation in the region.
Deliberative Democracy and the Resource Curse: A Nationwide Experiment in Tanzania
Oil and gas discoveries in developing countries are often associated with short-sighted economic policies and, in response, calls to insulate resource management from populist impulses. We report on a randomized experiment testing methods to overcome this apparent tension between sound resource governance and democratic politics. Soon after Tanzania’s discovery of major natural gas reserves, we invited a nationally representative sample of voters to an intensive public deliberation of policy options featuring nationally recognized experts and small-group discussions. Democratic deliberation reinforced the public’s strong preference for rapid spending of gas revenues, but also increased support for various prudential and economically orthodox measures, including independent oversight of gas revenues, limits on government borrowing, and selling gas abroad rather than subsidizing fuel at home. These effects were driven by deliberation per se, rather than a pure information treatment, and show no evidence of contamination by facilitatoror peer-effects in group deliberations. www.cgdev.org Justin Sandefur, Nancy Birdsall, James Fishkin, and Mujobu Moyo