THE NA nON THURSOA Y, NOVEMBERB, 2012
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INDUSTRY
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Experts warn on cassava inclusion policy
ES the Federal Governm! have lhe pohhcaJ will to enforce' its deo!lton to increase linif( on imported wheal 000,1 Some stakeholders lire nol ronvinced thai the government !lao; the will to ellerute the policy b«a\JSlt It mlly ~ detrient1l1 to I~ people's well.being. To lhem~ the 40 F. rent
AdoAhmed, "iud ·'l"hf-gO\....,.,menl should revIeW the ('OticV of I~ !"8 tanf! on wmt.i.nd fl'our bec:au.o:e it 15 a vilaJ poIKy iJln151 that .«J\dd be detriment'll 10 the well-brin~ (.f the common man (Ill the <;tn."e'I t>ernuse Nigerians eat a loaf of bre.ld depending on the price and "IU' When \11(' pnces of &n!ad and (Ittwor iillM'd food" ~ynrlets. il wlll deny Nigerianli the meal Ihey hke tJeo;t . therefore. may lead 10 protf""t thai ",-ill endanger the react' Of the OOU/l' :;.~y the importer<; alld mll'ile-r bak·
eassaWl flOur mpul IS too high. \Vhen I'orme- PresIdent OfU5egun Obasaoto a{'proved 10 per cent cassava nour Inclusion In brNld bak· ing. many who look the cassava bre."1d then confe5filed thai it was not delicious. liller, baker.> 50Ughi a ~uctkJn in the CilSQva content 01 the bread. The gO\~menl yielded to their request. sIa5hed !he JX'f"Cef'I~e by half and "entually threw out ~ polK)' Acrordmp; to the Execubyt, Vi~ Chairman, -Honeywell AOUf t.hlls Pk. Mr 8.fIbiJtunOe OdWlilyo. despite !he goverment's good mlennon to use cassava to boOst rural de\'t"JormmI and urban drc::ongerion. il.5 uJ\a\-ailabilily aoo lack of t«h· nology by loar millers to pr~ ~ "OIu~ rrquin!d couJ.1 Frustrate the effort. lIe described the situation as II challenge It) Hour mllU!n. despite their willtngnc55 10 use 0'l:5I5<l\'11. Odunayo IIrgUl.'d thai manufactures trughl no! havt' any choice at the end 001 10 maX11T115e the profil With tM new Import dUly, which he said could lead to 10Cl"e..1sed priceJ in I"ther- Ihmgs. e:<peOaIly bread and
wheaL ....Vheal is a major I'3W marerial in the productIOn of our products II
actuallv iICU1Wlts fOf over90 per cent of the iouIt mw material mput and it is wholly Imported 1ne pncl,! of wt-I is inlJumct'd by so IniIny fac· ton; most of wltich a~ bt'yond us lIS local USft'S. For ~ampl~ lhe Ped· eral Government r~ntly an· nounced an intnxluctJOn of a 15 per cent levy. In addlbon to the five percent Import duty foe wht".1t. ThiSneces.sanly means an m(:n~ase In the production cost of nOllr and other
He ".lId the g""ernmenl ..tlould noI ~ in a hurry 10 go ahe3d With the ~ 1ncrt>1l>;f' 01 wheal and
flour tariff "The announcement alOM ma) rnU5t' piUlic Importatll'l'l thilt maY t'l' used 10 Ir"ICrNSt' the rTKt"'i tot bwRd. biscull5. <;palthe«:t. nOOdles and oth· en,~ he "'10 ' A consumpr. Cynthill Abuibr. who feared thitl the i~<iI(' ('In 1m· port duty ..... ould aff('(1 noodlec lind otherrroducts.said the rolq'would only make hfe man' dlfflCUll for the wheal basrd products from nulle!'1\ ~
wheal imports worth N635 billion (about54.2billion)tn2011 w'~over· slated to demonstrate that wheat Imports hurt Nigeria'a fc>reign ex· change earrung!! and wor-en tile rate of unemployment. Ill' !laId these (igUl"C"'. e\,~l If tilt")'" include cosI. freignt, ill!'ural'lC1! and duty, were high, addIng Ihat OV~ 5 \.8 billion m spent nn wheal im· ports llJlJlually uSJOg the !lame cosI, ffelghl. Insural'lC1! and duty ~hed· ule. Tht> Lap ';;"'te Chairman of the A~lion of Mastpr Baker5 and Conff'Ctionerit'S, Jllcob Adejonn, ronfirmed that Ihe rrireofbreild had ~ smce September I. follow · Ing the Incrl"tlll!fli of I:.~ce of nour
he said An l'COf"IOmJSI, f.gnan Quadri, .... id because some of Nigena's poItcie!< In Ihe pa,! werr~ unplanned and poorly researched, they did nol ...·ork. I Je Sind '!hen! is nothmg bad m CM5iWa componeYlls but \hi fad ~ ml'IJfl"i that ~ry rt'5earch and consultatIOn among stakeholders howe not beal done and thm IS dan-gerous to the mMka "To me. this is another bandage
avM %g: ~:~oodlC!i and bread mv last J1"CUII whene\'M' I tJunk of taking a qmdc food thai would hot affordable. wht'n tht' 'Ion~ and daughter.; of the nch nughl "('ttlM for fast food !Ofnl" Now that Ihe pl'1Ce'l of these commoditK'!'i are wi 10 go up, what L" tl1(' hope7 I tJunk the government flf"ed" to ron.~ld("f the ma..~ and M\T a rt.'thmk. "hP a",
~,d
An industria! expert in lap, Dr
For a long ume, bakers h.I \·e t>een on Ow edge UVe!" ruing m<1:'I of JO. gtl!di('rlf:o; needed for tht- rmductJon ttf bwi1d and othe-r roniectJooent'" ru a 11"'U1I. many "maU "<:ilko baker; hav(' been rompetled tn ahand on baking Although mdu.'ilrial r("i('ar'; hpr ~ beheve IMt the lJlChlSl(..... Of fl\"(' I"" cent cas......,va flour in wht'.IIt nour could I..ad 10 a drop In the roo<! of baking nOllr. not all nour miller<; h3ve n('t"dC'd the go vernment ·" ~icy i-Ienct" i .... imPM=' on the pnce Of nour 15 not }'t'I felt b)' baJr.rr;..
inconsis tency, ha"'e fruSlrated governments ' eHorts a t cHe< '
tn'dy meeting the fun ding nt"ed<; tJf the manufadllnnf:; seclo r
' Despite the goverment's good intention to use cassava to boos t rura l development and urban decongestion, its unavailabili ty and lack of afk-~ ~~~:.::=t7~I~ technology by local millers to process the lion have no optiQn but 10 inqea5e the price of breMi beC'au.o:e of the NI , vo lume required could frustra te the effort' (XXI addition on the J'I'lre of flour.·
Multiple charges inimical to business, says MAN
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H E Manufacturers Assodahon of Nigeria (MAN), Ogun State chapter, has said excessi"'e char~e<> are hin· denng its members businesses According to MAN these as multiple taxes, levies and other charges by urinus ,tiers of goy, ernment are excrucIating Speaking at its 27tt. Annual General Meeting. its ChaLrrmm, Dr Dapo Ogunhlga, said the con· tinuous introducl ion tlf taxes and levies by various organs o f go ... ernmcnt, and the mOde of their collection were not proper. .. Their actions pose great chal· lenges to busint!S5 planning, execllhon and pro,ections. For In . stance, the s tate g('l\'emment rt>· cenlly ~ised Deed of Least' of Agreement from 10 to five yeal1'li, while at the snme time re"'ising the land charges ffom N62,OOO to N242 ,OOO pef annum. ~ OgUlltUgll said Others an' poor infrastructure, especially road network, waler sl~pp l y and . electricity in indus· triar estates He «aid the gOH!mmenl should pre\'ail on i1s OffiCials 10 slop the molesl3tion of company ... e· hicles' drivers conveymg raw mat....lals and finished products, mC"t1 of .... hlch lite unauiJlOrisc!d , as well as various organs of go ...· ernment personnel wno "'lSit fa("' lones <It various hmes demand·
109 SImilar payments and grati-
fications. ~yinR all iJleSe are affedlng manufac t urers' opera· lion in the state. Oguntuga assured thai manufacttm"1"S would continue to play their rule m developing the state. i hs woros: ~Manufactures will do e ...erything rc?SSible to support the ... ISlon of the state gav· emm!!nl , Despl le the harsh economic climate, manufac t uring acti ... ities are on the increase With the branch recording appr.'. ciable growth in memlJershlp .. Among lhe major factors thill have s tunted the grow th of the manufacturing sectur is the
dearth of long·term funding for m3nufacluring indu!i t ries~ The National President, M, Kola lamodu. said successive governmen ts ack n owledge the e)fI~tence of the funding chal· Icnge facing the sector, espeoLllrf Ihe high cosl of funds and COI'lSlSlent ly tned to addres.s this challenge through VilflOUS policy initia ti... es. He said the inadequacy of funds at the dISposal of some fi· nancia l Institu t ions. dea rt h of basic infrastructure, h.ush busioess environment, changes in the 'ilTUcture and economic fortunes of Ihe nation, a.!l well as poliC)'
'Transfer 50% of excess crude oil sale to SWF' HE Nation . al ASSOCiahon of 0lamber5 of Commel'("('. In· dustry, Mmes and Agricul. ture (NACClI\IA) hilS ad ... ised the Federal Go\'emment til chamlel abou t 50 per Cl!'nt of el(cess crude 011 sale 10 the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWf). The President of the a5l5Odation. Mr IleThert Ajayi. made the call in Lag", . IleadVOOlted that eu'e5lScrudeoil sales re ... mue be lodged in the Ex· ccssCrudeA«nuIlI (ECA) lie wl'l· romed the mtmduction of Medium Tenn Expenditure Framework· MTEF (2013-2015), Performance
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Agreement Contracts Signed by President Jonathan with minislers as ",'ell as the sender empower· mmt as worthy mnovatKms, which couJd OC> replica ted bv o ther tiers of go ...ernments and all their agencies with modifiar.tion where f1('C.
""''Y
"These innovations could bring both lhe public and pri ...atesecto3 I~ther on the !111m!! page On gender emr.owerment, we rounsertha l the> pilol progl'3\1tm(' should prioritiseeducatlon and en· lightenment. as well as ~ 10 entrep rell!!urshi~ finan ce for women,~ theassoc:lalion said
NACCIMA lamented Ihal the cost of providing physical infra· strocture ~ bcco~ prohibiti\'e fllr the government 10 bear He IId ... ised tha t concessionlllg or privatising the infrastrocture was IIdvisOlbk>. This, the association !aid, would rerlacethe"do-it.alones}'ndmme~
by the go"'ernment, stressing that each tier of governmen t sfiouJd oonsiderembrndng r'ublic-Privale Partnership WPp>,wh ich has been "1Kn"<"<folly done on some heavy
r~Ldambcr ..... hile commt."f1d. ing the presenlation of budget
2013, urged thatthl! machinery al government's dl!iJlO"oll are u<:t'd hI t'nSure tugh lever f"."'rformarlCt' of Ihe 20n bUdget. The chamber notl'd tilal that d l'5pite Ihe ~v.mufM."I'I'" ~Iolcr ance forbnber}' and corrupllClfl and tile aclwilw"< o f the anh-cnrruplion agendes, not much apreaf'l; 10have cfianged as indJ5dplillt', l>ribery and cornlPlJon ha\"t"rontmued tolmi\'e
e:n~T~:~~v~: ~:!1~; "isenew 'itrattpies to lackle thl5 dl It'mma, which It feal1."(l cn\lld afhx t the f'C'I"formance (.f tlwo budS!'t aod q>rvice de h\'ef)' in 2ClB