Introducing the Benin National Council of Shippers (CNCB)

The Benin National Council of Shippers (CNCB) is a commercial, state-owned company with financial autonomy. It was founded on May 25, 1983. Its main mission is to serve the interests of the country’s shippers. It follows the general functioning of transport-related services; strives to simply and facilitate the procedures and formalities pertaining to the transport chain; and publishes statistics about traffic flow and indicators about the processing of vessels and the passage of goods in the port. CNCB’s duties also include the management of large truck parking lots that are part of the company’s assets.

Some of Director-General Syrus H. Fangnigbé’s impressive achievements to date:

Since taking charge barely six months ago, on July 14, 2015, Director-General Syrus Hervé Fangnigbé has used his unique management skills to significantly and positively impact the company in many ways, thereby earning the appreciation of users and partners alike. Owing to his eagerness to learn from the experiences of developed nations, this visionary executive travels abroad to set up mutually-beneficial partnerships. His legacy, so far, includes the following:

ASSISTANCE TO THE SHIPPERS

CNCB has organized three training sessions for shippers and other users of the Benin transport chain, and initiated an awareness and training campaign for shippers and drivers about regulation #14/2005/CM/UEMOA dated 16/12/2005 which regulates norms and procedures relating to the size, weight and load of large trucks of goods in the West African Economic and Monetary Union States (UEMOA). This campaign aims, among other things, at preventing the premature degradation of road infrastructure and vehicles.

PROMOTION OF THE TRANSPORT CHAIN

In terms of promoting the transport chain, the management has organized visits to various sites and domains that are part of the company’s land assets, including parking lots and other domains in various localities, which enabled the inventory of these sites for the sake of their continued technical and legal security, and an attempt at more rigorous control.

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Director-General Fangnigbé, a meticulous human resource manager, took various administrative actions to ensure a lasting peaceful atmosphere conducive to the attainment of the performance objectives of the company.

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

CNCB’s management also took several steps to promote the company’s activities and image at the regional and international levels. Case in point: CNCB’s attendance at the information, legal and economic experts’ meeting held in Douala, Cameroon August 12-14 on the management of BESC; the company’s attendance at the meeting to validate the 2016 Plan of Action in the framework of the AUTF/CNCB bilateral cooperation agreement held at the headquarters of AUTF (Association of Transport and Freight Users of Europe.) Equally noteworthy is CNCB’s attendance at the meeting of the Extraordinary Board of Directors of the Union of the Council of African shippers (UCCA) held in Port-Gentil, Gabon October 7-9, 2015, and the regional seminar on international trade between China and West Africa.

PROSPECTS FOR SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED CONTRIBUTION TO THE TRANSPORT CHAIN

• In the short term, the Benin National Council of Shippers plans on actively taking part in the actions initiated by the Economic and Monetary Union of West African States (UEMOA) geared toward facilitating transport. The company also plans on popularizing UEMOA’s texts on how to facilitate and take part in the campaign for the respect of the legal dispositions.

• In the mid and long terms, CNCB plans on building new parking lots for large trucks and warehouses in various localities across Benin, and take an active part in the construction of dry ports and a training center for maritime transport and port-related activities. In sum, as an essential component of the port community, the Benin National Council of Shippers is eager to contribute significantly to the performance of the transport chain.