Financial Energy Review
The Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) has said that the current performance of the manufacturing sector suggests that it is not ‘Uhuru’ and emphasizes the need for a more proactive, broad and sector focused measures to address both the recent challenges thrown up by the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The association in the executive summary of its Global and Nigerian Macroeconomic Highlights which was released weekend therefore called on the government to specifically address some of the most perennial issues which when resolved could breathe life into the Nigerian economy. Below are the issues they want the government to act upon with immediate alacrity
Improve the level of forex allocation to the productive sector including manufacturing leveraging on the high and sustained crude oil prices in the international market
Carry out further investment in the electricity value chain and commit to adding 10000MW to the current electricity distributed in the country; Embrace and support significant development of energy mix and renewable: the country has huge potentials for Solar and Wind
iii. Restrict the exports of maize, cassava, wheat, food related products and other manufacturing inputs; Suspend the 15 percent charges on imported wheat; encourage growth in domestic investment in Agriculture.
Incentivize investment in local development of raw materials; Give attention to domestic production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) and Basic chemicals by incentivizing investment in the area; refocus on Backward Integration and Resource-Based Industrialization; Reverse the duty for Annealed Cold roll back to 45 percent from the new
Commission the resuscitate of the existing national refineries to produce fuels locally; Review the gas price for domestic consumption to be in tandem the with the export price which is about $3.25 per cubic metre
about $3.25 per cubic metre
Publish the list of approved harmonized taxes and levies for the manufacturing sector by the Joint Tax Board (JTB) to address the issues of multiples taxes and levies; fully implement the Steve Oronsanye Report on the reduction and re-alignment of Government Agencies and Parastatals in order to streamline the number of taxes, levies, fees and administrative charges
vii. Invest significantly in ports infrastructure including scanners, etc.; Resuscitate the moribund rail tracks leading from the ports to industrials areas; Government Agencies operating at the ports should work harmoniously, particularly in the implementation of the recent migration of National list to ECOWAS CET Chapter 99; Implement the single window platform to eliminate significant human inference in the ports clearing system; Improve the time taken to clear machines and raw-materials at the national ports while making the link road accessible.
viii. Strengthen the Bank of Industry (BOI) and Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to adequately provide liberal finance for the manufacturing sector; Avail to the productive sector the CBN non-oil export stimulation facility with liberal term and condition
Allow industrial policies in the country to gestate with proper monitoring and evaluation rather than jettisoning or altering them unduly frequently. Monitor the implementation of Executive Order 003 to ensure compliance by MDAs so as to boost activities in the manufacturing sector.
