Nlllc rtu Tribune 10 lllUl'sdl}. II October. '2012
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'Our agric policy will produce 3.5m jobs by 2015' (Conf" n ulNlfro m p a g e 9)
Allrl c ul t'O;l.f !l My Admlnlslr Ilion has IlIslltutcd r~fonr.5 to establiSh slaph:
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crop p~Uin! roues 10 attract the private S«tllr mlo areas of hlgb p"o-
duellcn. and 10 reduce: post-harvest losses. Morlovrr, the value chaln approach which b IlClng Implemented by the govcrnmcl1( hu the capacity to create an addUJ"naJ 3.5 million jolbs In the medium tenn by 2015. from the nce. CassaVII. SI)qhum. cocoa and l."OI .. ton value IclI81tiS · You wI! ~cHIl lhal the Government prollelcd 1, ICCllUVCS 10 support cassava v/llue chains. Includlng fern duly on ~~chl'l' ry and equipment to proccM I{;h III allty cassava nc·ur. Cassava ad.5 ncrcaslngly comnu:rctally aV{l1 ablr:. wltl;l 20% cassava Oour conlent. • A-I tnl If one million me:rlc tonnes of led (<l!I5ava chlp5. are being expo Cfl V, ' ;hlna this }"tar This Is set 10 ri'w. a Id we conUnue to be acUvely I VUlvp'd 10 the export of Jlrocessed ca Jav! ! .ruducts. • In r sIHJ~& 10 our fiscal mea 5ures.13 I(W~lrvate sector r1c:c mills wlUI capa :l'y}f tbout 240,000 Im:trlc tonnes h V! ~~ n establlshl!d. Th~ mills buy ~I,d ~Ir ICUS local paddy and create e ploYJn' nl ror Nigerl~ns . lIoual Fellow I~rl 'rei. the provlsloll of aCfordab h'll sing 115 onc of the Admlnlst lItOD'S sirateglc Imperatives for guara I~~fhl! our clUzens' productivity and \Ioell b< Ing We have a Iwus Ingdcflcl o f 1: t) 16 million units and we are c !i'U.... g all enabling environ menl for h!' p;' ate sector to produce much of 11 m coled hou.!les whilst ~ altngjo 1'1 tJlt process To faclillatl" thiS P s t · .• a n holdIng a presl(lcn Hal relre lin Ir u:ling Itt earh' Novem ber to dl .c;u.!If I !Olley and modalities for dealllll .vIti, and lIlllng Is"iues. de · veloping a, I frr ,rdable mortgag.. n nance sy ;11'0;, a .d reducing lhe high cost of h l"slpg COll.!llructlon, In the meantlm ' Iun-Ie ' \'8Mous so<:Ial11llus tng prog 1~H1]1~ close 10 2.000 hllusIng units Havt I«:n completed, \\hlle over 24. >(1 h!luolln~ unH.!! arc at \"8r1 ous stag f of"o "1>lelion TIl(: Federal Govcmm rlt tpt .. fl!d Into Ptu-rneMhtp Agreemel U \Io-·tl several states rOl the provision qr 6 .()t1Q housing uulls . Another hm.:sl 'lg units have alft'ady been con p ettd under the dire('t '~n strucllon s. ·heTi . of the federal Hl)us Ing Authrty n these: States. Grndually. we '1 ens uing that moR' Nigerians enj :I. th' 'enefils of havln~ Ihelr own hOIl I Trans I .., You a e fal 11 !ar with the Improvement In I e rut cUonlng of our p"rts. the detal or II{ Itch I provided In my 52nd I epd dence Annivcr~ary Speech. ' h r'!latd 10 Rail. In our con tinUing e IJ, oost Infrnslructun: dc velopme n Iii countT)', work Is on gOing to ha~lilate the rail system across . ~u ry. such as the Lagos. Kana lin ~ \I as the Pori HafU!urTMaldugu I In~ lur people have slarl~1 10 c:njoy I sc ce again, FurthemlOre. our mil , m ernl7.allon progmmme Is on tra wI'lthe AbuJII-Kaduna IIl1e now al 4 i ,Ot .pletlon while won on tbe La. - ball I line Is 10 comm~ce soon, W lst· -q>eel 10 complete the Itakpe-AJ' kul Warrl line In 2013. In Ule sam In 'e are fast·tracklng lhe Implem I aV'J of the mass transit Ahuja LI ~ t I system. When I.~m pleted. II l III. ,",~ transportaUon for all rf''j' . , Ii!l I I the FeT, especially workers I llig I the suburbs. Inlar. Yale wllYs; Our Inland wa-
terways programme Is on track to boost commerce In the surrounding l.'OmmunlUes. I had the plea.!lure of commls· slonlng the Onllsha Inland Pori on 30th August 2012. Avlallon and Airports. Let Ole now tum to the Aviation sec· tor. We are working hard to Improve Ule regulatory regime and sllrety or the sector- and will continue to look for ways to support lis develop+ ment I take this opportunity to once more. extend condo+ lences to the families that loved ones In the recent Dana plane crash. 1111s Admln-
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qonal Assembly for conslderallon. This qlll will encourage addlUonal Investme n ls In Nigeria's 011 and gas Indust!'Y, and ensure that the management of our petroleum sector Is more commercially dM~n. Petroleum Subsidy Programme: Government Is succeeding m substanlfally cleani n g up the management of the petroleum subSidy regime. The findings of the Aig Imoullhuede led Presidential COIII m I I tee h a v e helped us lighten the paymem regime 10 weed out corruption . We are working hard 10 recover monies fraudulently obtained from the subsidy regime. The EFCC Is prOSecuting several of those who ddrauded Nigeria and the eITorts to c~ck down on coTTUpUon In I his sec , 0 ,
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expandl!d with 5 new staff aner bell efillng from the You Win competliloll Robinson Omorogluwa from Owerrl. now has 10 more employees on his Montessori school payroll . thank.!! to the YouWln scheme _ The testimonies go on and on. We have just launched a second round of the compelilion tar· gellng only women entrepreneurs Across the country. our youth arc de veloping new Ideas and elUerprlses. and ....~ must support them! I launchl!d the Community Servlt.~, Women and Youth Empowerment Progrnmme (CSWYEPI under the SUREr In February 2012 TIlls Is now workIng In pUol phase III 14 states. and to be rcpllcated III other stales In 2 week.!!_ We also have the Graduate In te",shlp Programme. In ....·hlch enrolled private companies provide one -year Internships to 50.000 graduates. paid by the Federal Government So far , 700 finns. and 20.000younggraduates Im~ applied to partlclpale In this scheme Fellow Nigerians. even as we look at our achievements In 2012 . we are also conscious of the flood emergency that has affected large parts of OliT country and Citizens . My heartkl1 sympathy goes to Ihe aITected families and communities. Two days ago. I lIIade a broadcast on the Fcderal Government's actluns to deal with the ' situation . I authorized Ihe dlsburs~ · ment of N17 .6 billion to states and MOAs 10 help bring succour 10 o ur fel low clUu-ns affected bv the nood . 1111s will complement efforUi alreadv tltI Ihe way by the National Emergency Man agemenL Agencv . other agelll:: I~ .. and slate govenlments I ha\'e alo;o set up un Inter· ministerial tec hnical comllll! te~ to take an Invento ry of th e ~ l(tetll of Ule damage and propose a rll:'hablll!lUlon slralegy In IIddlllo n. I ha"'e set up a rommlttee 10 raise R'SOurt'", for this emergency THEM E OF T H E 20 13 BUDGET
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and IllIprove air travel safety standard~ across the country. For Instance. the remodelling or airport terminals and the upgrading of aJrport runways arc presently at advanced stages of Implementallon across virtually all ollr alrpor1.!l. In addition. we ha~ just con eluded arrangements to ('ommence lhe construction of nve brand new termi nals In Kano. Port Harcourt . Lagos. Abuja and Enugu . alld 5bl perishable cargo tennlnals, early nClCtyear In line With best International practice. these new terminals. will be priViltf' sector managed once completed. Roads: We know that Nigerians are disturbed about the stale of our major highways We are addresSing this Issue frontally . With lhe rains receding. the Mlnlstry of Works wllliniensify the construction and rehabilltallon of. majur roads In the country. for example. Ihe duall7.auon of the AhuJa LokoJa road. the Benlu-Ore-Shagamu road. and the Kano -M&lduguM road . Also. the Enugu-Port-Hareourt road n:habilitation has been awarded to four contractors In order to fast -track Its CQmple""II. It Is gratifying to note Ihat resources from the Subsidy Reinvest ment Programme are ~Ing used to supplement the regular budgel for hese projects The Pe troleum S e ctor The petroleum seclor continues to playa crucial role In our economy. even as ~ seek diversification. In this re gard. we are taking steps to moderntse the sector. The Petroleum Industry Bill (PLBI. a new legal framework go~rn lug Nigeria's 011 and gas Industry. has been delivered as promised to the Na -
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allon's 011 n::serves through exploraIon of new frontiers for 011 and gas 'Production Is beginning to yield resulls with news of the discovery of crude 011 In some Inland areas In th.:: country We arc detennlned to develop these nndlngs and expand th~ scope of such uploratlons To support Ihls. we have raised the provision for frontier uplomllon from NI2 billion In 201210 NIG billion In 2013 . J o b e re _l i on Fellow CompatrioUi. In spite of the economic growth 1I0ted earlier. It 15 clear that as a nation. we stili face ceo-nOllllc disparities across the country. "111115 consUlutes obstacles to sustainable development as It limits Improve ment In living standards, output and social cohesion which are key factors for achieving Ineluslve growth Our challenge therefore. transcends how 10 achieve growth . Our objective Is to achieve Inclusive growth by IdentifyIng and developing Job creation opportunlllcs. We have mentloned'the 3 .5 million Jobs we aIm to create In agriculture and millions more Jobs In housing and construction sectors. solid minerals sector. aviation and Ihe creaUff Industry. In my Independel1!..~ Day Speech. I spoke of the 80.000-1 10.000 Jobs we are supporting young entrepreneurs to create through Ule YouWlu programme. For Instance. Adero n ke Oyetunjl, Is a yam pTOCCS.!lOr. who as a result of the You Win programme. now employs an additional 10 workers. I am also Impressed wllh the story of Ibrahim MohiUllmed from Ka no who operales a paint manuracturl n g buslncss. and has
Ladles and Gentlemen. you would recall that In furtheran c e o r m y Admlnlst.raUon·s eITorl.!! to transronn our economy . Ihe 2012 Budget was established lin four main pillars Macroeeonomlc stability Strut' lUral refonnsl Go~nlallce and Instltullons; and InvcsUng In pnorlly sectors_ TIle 2013 Budget promotes conllnulty of th~ pillars and Is designed with the theme: nscal consolidation with III cluslve growth . 50. we wlll remain prudent with our fiscal re'lOurces but also en'5ure that the NI~erlan economy keeps growing and creallng JObs _ To Ihls c:nd . the go~m"u~ nt will c ontinue with U,e medlulli term theme alld Illterventlons thaI are consistent with the objectives of the Transforll1alloll Agenda Maero economlc: Stab ility One key plank upon which our ceo· nomic trnnsfoflnallon Is based Is the achievement of macroeconomic sla bllity. My Administration has made Significant progress In putllng Ihe finances or the nallon o n a sound foot Ing and laying the foundaUoll for rapid and sustainable growth . We will slay focused 011 maJlltalnlng macroeconomic stability tn Nigeria Budge t Stru c ture Now lei me lum to the struc ture of the 2013. Budget In rttCnt years, re current, expenditure has tellded 10 crowd oul capital expendlluTf' "' II ... uaUonal bydgel. Over the 20 I J 2015 medlum-tenn, my Admlnlso .,lioll will coutlnue to Implement tlleasures almed-al correcung this Imbalance In the budget structure III a viable and sU.!ltalnable manner (To be contin u ed,l