Dike Onwuamaeze
The President of Nigeria Employers’ Consultation (NECA), Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi, has said the solution to the infrastructural challenges hurting competitiveness of businesses in the country is the development of sound Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework.
Adeniyi made the recommendation recently, during the 64th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the NECA in Lagos, where he expressed hope that the Nigerian economy would end the year in a positive and higher growth trajectory.
He said: “As we have reiterated in many fora, a successful PPP structure is required to bridge the infrastructural gap that will enhance the competitiveness of the nation in the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Exploring alternative financial sources, such as the PPP framework, would be required to accomplish this.”
He enjoined government agencies entrusted with the successful Nigeria’s participation in AfCFTA to, “take this as an urgent national assignment that demands extreme commitment and sacrifice. All efforts should be directed at strengthening domestic value chains, particularly the agro-allied industrial base.”
Adeniyi also urged the federal government to develop and implement more friendly investment driven policies, most especially in the manufacturing and telecommunication sectors, to enable the economy achieve higher growth levels.
He said: “In the months ahead, we expect the positive economic trend to continue in the remaining quarters, but at higher rates. We believe that the economy should end the year in a positive and higher growth trajectory, if the areas identified are given adequate attention.
“But there is the need to intensify efforts and make more sectors to achieve higher growth levels in subsequent quarters. This can be achieved by developing and implementing more friendly investment driven policies, most especially in the manufacturing and telecommunication sectors, among others.
“We call for policy rejuvenation in key sectors like agriculture, mining and quarrying, telecommunication, manufacturing and construction.”
He, however, warned that the continued rise in government borrowing and huge debt servicing obligations would have a long-term negative impact on the country’s capacity for improved development and suggested that Nigeria should embrace, “innovative strategies for public financial management in the form of debt for development should be considered as the reality remains that the nation can hardly bear the burden of the overwhelming debt servicing, which deprives the it of needed funds for development.”
The president of NECA also called on the country’s economic managers to intensify efforts on diversifying Nigeria’s export earnings, particularly by exploring opportunities in mining and agriculture in order to reduce the pressure on the country’s foreign reserve.
“Furthermore, investments and business regulations to accelerate local industrialisation, which would foster local production of many imported products would significantly help to reduce dependence on imported products and thus conserve scarce foreign exchange,” he said.
