Financial Vanguard

DECEMBER 9, 2013 STATES INTERNALLY GENERATED REVENUE SUMMARY (2010 - 2012)

Nigerians groan under Multichoice’s pay tv bemoan poor quality, high fees and lost signals

By PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

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Source: National Bureau of Statistics

igerians who subscribe to pay TV are now at the receiving end. Most of the time, they say they pay for services that are not delivered.

Severally, the management of pay TV companies has called press briefings and customers’ fora to address some of these biting issues concerning their operations, particularly, with off time lost signals by subscribers which lasts for days before signals are restored.

As of today, subscribers are at a loss as to who pays for the lost days. Chikaodili Igwe, a United Kingdom-based Nigerian who came back to the country recently, was at a Multichoice agent office, and said that rendering good services to Nigerians was far from the official

policy of the company in the country.

“You will lose the chances of enjoying what you paid for while Multi-Choice smiles to Johannesburg, South Africa, with your cash,” he said. Yusuf Kale,

Continues on page 18

106.05

0.65

2,820.00

+58.00

16.59

-0.1

111.41

+0.43

111.41

+0.43

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL

SELLING

DOLLAR 154.73 155.23 155.73 STERLING 253.1692 253.9873 254.8054 EURO 211.5623 212.246 212.9296 FRANC 172.7283 173.2864 173.8446 YEN 1.5149 1.5198 1.5247 CFA 0.3017 0.3117 0.3217 WAUA 236.7001 237.465 238.2299 RENMINBI 25.4397 25.5224 25.6051 RIYAL 41.2525 41.3858 41.5191 KRONA 28.356 28.4476 28.5392 SDR 237.4641 238.2315 38.9988

CBN Exchange rate as at 06/12/2013 C M Y K

18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013

Cover Story

The Entrepreneurial Revolution: A New Order for Nigeria PT 2

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L-R; Medical Director Highland Maternity Lagos State, Dr Imosemo Donald, Healthwise Project Manager Mrs Fatima Adeoje, and Healthwise Producer Mrs Temitope Adesegun during the healthwise Show held at Christ embassy Studio Oregun, Lagos.

Nigerians groan under Multichoice’s pay tv, — bemoan poor quality, high fees and lost signals who said he has been a regular customer of DStv since 2004 noted that at the initial stage, services of Multichoice to Nigerians were satisfactory, but that as time went on, it appeared to lose focus, “perhaps as patronage increased.”

He said like many of his friends, he has started seeking other cheaper pay TV providers. He explained that the only thing that still keeps him with the company is the European League matches, but confessed that he was prepared to start watching such games at viewing centres.

“I think DStv is forgetting it is now a competitive market, although those other pay TV companies are not as big but Nigerians are beginning to rate them to be more effective.

They even have more entertaining programmes,” he stated. Jide Makanjuola, another DStv subscriber, said the cost of subscribing to the company was equivalent to financial suicide. Like Kale, he said Nigerians were becoming more enlightened and that most young users now prefer viewing sites to recharging their decoders. “It pays far better to pay a peanut at the viewing centre and save your money. The man that owns the viewing centre will make his money but you that subscribe at home will lose in the end,” he said.

A subscriber who identified himself as Alhaji Bello queried the pay TV for being disconnected before the expiration date. Others also complained of similar problem C M Y K

but not taking into cognisance the fact that they did not enjoy the services as they should due to the fact that weather conditions and several other factors beyond their control, cut short the times they enjoyed their subscription.

Other affected subscribers are also complaining that they are cut off sometimes two to three days before the expiration date of subscription. "This is an action the company is not even apologetic about," Simon

,

Continues from page 17

I think DStv is forgetting it is now a competitive market, although those other pay TV companies are not as big but Nigerians are beginning to rate them to be more effective, they even have more entertaining programmes

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Irete said. “What is annoying to many is that they are surcharged for late renewal while lost time is not paid for by the service provider.” A staff at Multichoice office said that the surcharge is as a result of a computer programme that the company has put in place “For example, where a customer fails to pay subscription fee on or before due date, it takes DSTV hours, if not days, to come back to transmission, but for StarTimes, it is immediate, even after two weeks off air,”

Mr. Obinna Nwokennaya, a subscriber to both pay TV owners explained.

The activities of DSTV management bring to mind the story of MTN when they came into Nigeria. They told Nigerians that per second billing was not achievable until after about 10 years, but when Glo launched the per second billing system, MTN had to adjust to per second billing, a feat they claimed was not achievable. Are these South African companies out to drain Nigerians?” Mrs. Uju Amanjo queried.

Amanjo said that DSTV increases tariff over time.

“Having launched pseudo promo few months ago, they (DSTV) hit back with a new tariff regime for premium subscribers.

For three years, I have been DSTV subscriber and premium subscriber. I have to delay my subscription this month to show my anger. They have only added Telemundo and a few channels that are not viewer-friendly.”

Despite having moved from W4 to W7 as promised at a forum, subscribers still experience poor picture quality during and after rainfall, and sometimes still pictures, even when customer’s subscription is still running. For the days wasted, who compensates and who extends the days lost? All these complaints DSTV management has not been able to address despite subscribers’ constant complaints at

Continues on page 19

ignificant lessons could also be learnt from Margaret Thatcher’s economic policies that propelled Britain to an economic boom in the ‘80s through extensive promotion of entrepreneurial initiative and share-ownership. Thatcherism’s thrust on substituting debt with equity spawned colossal economic development in the UK, which was soon adapted and replicated across Southeast Asia. th In the 20 century the USA traded their entrepreneurial revolution which they enjoyed in the previous 200years and began a 50 years stint of dependence on the modern day corporation. The myth of job security prevailed in the past 50 years. This is now gone.

Renowned historians like Will Durant wrote about this in 1944 leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Franklin Roosevelt and Stephen Covey had written and spoken about it.

For sure, Africa represents uniquely different realities and challenges, and there is no effective model than can be entirely transplanted here. Policy makers must prioritise institutional efforts to compensate for reigning socio-economic realities. Nigerian initiatives to pursue financial restructuring, for instance, have been largely hamstrung due to civil and political unrest. Likewise, Abuja’s insistence on micro-enterprises, instead of small-scale ventures, has done little to help its burgeoning urban unemployed work force.

A viable economic agenda for Nigeria that allows rapid entrepreneurial progress has to focus on fundamental adjustments: •Creating a pro-active socio-economic environment that encourages creative and viable entrepreneurship from the grassroots level up. Indentifying and correcting infrastructure deficits and systemic imbalance inimical to small business.

•Developing a credit regime – through relevant financial and industrial policy changes – that is sympathetic to small business realities. Promotion of lending through equity, and not debt, is of critical importance.

•Removing administrative and trade barriers while simultaneously enhancing technical support and capacity building assistance for both existing and emerging entrepreneurs.

•Mobilising the country’s significant human resources pool by revamping the education sector to provide vocational, administrative and skill development training to rural and urban youths.

•Creating efficient and effective mechanisms for regulation and oversight of enterprise-development initiatives in general, and microfinance institutions in particular.

•Maintaining political stability and authority of democratic institutions; fighting corruption and building social consensus on important issues to ensure broad-based success of macroeconomic policies.

Another important consideration to this discourse is the difference between policy and implementation, which can at least partly be viewed as the difference between developed and developing nations worldwide. The best policies come to naught unless adequately executed, and the African continent provides a long list of such examples. Obasanjo’s edict on entrepreneurial studies could very well end up being the next one unless successive governments follow it through in both letter and spirit. To accomplish durable prosperity, Nigeria needs to exploit its tremendous economic potential with innovative governance, together with an ironclad shift against endemic corruption.

Interventionist policies and institutional mismanagement are potentially far more damaging in the long-term than, for example, the current economic crisis. A twofold agenda of reform and regulation, with effective implementation, is crucial to achieving the entrepreneurial revolution that will help the Nigerian economy overcome its trouble legacy.

The world looks with envy at the unprecedented growth of China and India. These two Asian giants were still in the landscape of pre-industrial agricultural economy when Nigeria was already setting up factories. Today they are enjoying the blessing of a borderless interconnected world economic order.

Nigeria needs to follow through on its significant economic potential with sincere governance and effective planning, together with an ironclad shift against endemic corruption. Interventionist policies and institutional mismanagement are potentially far more damaging in the long-term than, for example, the current economic crisis.

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013 — 19

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igeria, unfortunately, is a country that runs on vicious circles. What beats human imagination is the rate at which the nation’s leaders repeat the same mistakes of the past. It was amazing when the Minister of Trade, Investment and Industry, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, announced to the nation a new automobile policy. It sounded as if the country has never had such policy in the past.

Nigeria has scattered across the country, various research institutes that were built to assist in the promotion of industrialisation. But these institutions are either moribund or totally dead. Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO), was set up to conduct research into products that can be manufactured locally. Where is it today?

PRODA had the same mission; Light Commercial vehicles, (ANAMMCO) in Emene, it is no longer heard of and its Buses and Sport Utility Vehicles Enugu; Steyr Nigeria Limited (Bauchi); National Truck products have never been taken (SUVs).

Manufacturers (NTM) in Kano The question is, who is to seriously. What about the Raw Materials Research and blame for the free for all import for Fiat; and Leyland Nigeria Development Council? Where of vehicles into the country? Limited in Ibadan. is the NASENI? By its mandate Various governments in the ow many of these and scope of operation, it is the country do not patronise locally companies are only Nigerian purpose-built made products. They prefer agency designed to conduct bullet-proof Mercedes Benz, producing at 10 percent developmental work in the areas BMW, alloyed wheeled Prado installed capacity and why, is of manufacturing, but where etc. At a point, the military took the question we must ask. The Peugeot as the official car for the reasons are not far- fetched. are its end products?

Apart from the fact that the This government must learn military government, but as basic infrastructure are lacking, to be serious. The bid by the soon as the men in flowing over time, modern cars gown came in, it was jettisoned. previous governments for Nigeria to take off industrially led to the setting up of the various steel rolling mills across the country. Where are the rolling mills? What has become of the famous Ajeokuta Steel plant? Where in Nigeria is flat steel being produced for the nation to tap into to produce cars? If this government should go into its own archive; it will find that facts about the operating capacity of Nigeria’s automotive sector in the past are well documented. The Federal The Nigerian automotive produced internationally Government in a bid to produce industry’s domestic production became more popular with a Nigerian car encouraged the began in the late 1970s through Nigerians than the ‘post-war’ setting up of assembly plants partnerships between the cars produced nationally at that in various parts of the country. Nigerian government and time. Also, the industry ’s The Assembly and foreign companies. Six problems were exacerbated by Component manufacturing assembly plants (two for cars lack of economies of scale, plants in the 1970s and 1980s and four for trucks) were disappearance of the middlepeaked at a total of over 120,000 established between 1970 and class, as well as weak import cars, commercial vehicles and 1980. These were: Peugeot policies and enforcement. The tractors, per annum. Even Automobile Nigeria Limited subsequent devaluation of the today, an entirely green plant, (PAN) in Kaduna; Volkswagen naira and increasing inflation Innoson Vehicle Motor of Nigeria Limited (VWON) in resulted in high production Manufacturing (IVM) in Lagos; Anambra Motor costs at Nigeria’s inefficient Anambra State, is churning out Manufacturing Limited plants.

Auto policy, going round in circle and moving nowhere H

Have we solved the problems bedeviling the auto industry in Nigeria to the point that Nigeria can afford high duty on imported second-hand cars?

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The result is the importdependent automotive industry we know today, an industry with an annual installed capacity of about 100,000 cars that is five percent utilised. To meet the demand gap, the average Nigerian is forced to be import-dependent with 80 percent of the automotive imports being used cars.

Have we solved the problems bedeviling the auto industry in Nigeria to the point that Nigeria can afford high duty on imported second-hand cars?

The concern in the recently announced auto policy of the Federal Government is that it has a potential harmful effect on the economy and the welfare of Nigerians because Nigeria’s import-dependency is just a manifestation of deeper issues of low productivity, weak competitiveness and flawed foreign exchange policy in the domestic economy.

Did this government do a cost benefit analysis of the implication of the sharp increases in the import tariff and levies on motor vehicles on the welfare of the people they were elected to serve? To any economist, it is inappropriate to begin the pursuit for a selfreliant automobile sector with the imposition of high import tariff on vehicles when there are fundamental supply side issues to resolve. Without a good foundation, the superstructure cannot stand in any economy.

As with the case of rice policy,

the recent tariff review would lead to the escalation of smuggling of motor vehicles, shortages with corresponding loss of revenue to government and the attendant higher transportation costs. This will have an inflationary impact on the economy. This would happen because over 85 percent of the freight in the economy is moved by road; so also is the movement of the citizens. Vehicle ownership will go beyond the reach of the Nigerian middle class, especially in the face of poor credit access and high lending rates in the economy.

To any right thinking government, the creation of a sustainable automobile industry should be predicated on high local value addition and capacity for backward integration, strong engineering infrastructure, especially the iron and steel industry including the production of flat sheets, foundries and fabrication of vehicle components; strong petrochemical industry to supply the plastic components in vehicle production, and the development of ancillary industries for the production of batteries, glass, radiators, tyres etc. Can Nigeria in all honesty say these facilities are available now? Perhaps this government may want to tell Nigerians what it knows about the Oshogbo machine tools and what it was set up to do and what has become of it?

Mr. President and his minister must come to terms with reality and stop populist ideas that lead the country nowhere. Let us achieve at least 18 hours of regular power supply before dreaming of the impossible.

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Business & Economy Continues from page 18 various customer fora,” she said.

Ms. Juliana Nnamdi, who said her husband is a yearly subscriber, said that the husband is in love with the DSTV brand, but is disappointed with the way he’s been treated by the brand, while pointing out that sometimes, he is cut off before the subscription expires.

She said that her husband is considering dropping the idea of the yearly subscription or rather look for an alternative.

“We have not enjoyed anything from the DSTV brand since we have been subscribing to their platform.

We hear about all manner of promotions and wonder how

Nigerians groan under Multichoice’s pay tv, — bemoan poor quality, high fees and lost signals the winners emerge. The promos look like a ruse.”

The near monopolistic nature of the pay TV market spearheaded by DSTV has been a thorn in the flesh of Nigerians, says Mr. Avuru Adunaka, who said that Nigerians are being milked every day and nothing is done.

A subscriber who does not want his name in print lost signal for two weeks, even though apologies were sent, he was not happy with the situation but queried whether Multichoice will make refunds

for the weeks lost.

Accusing the Pay TV provider of insensitivity to consumer complaints and unreasonable deduction from subscribers, Olu Olajuwon explained how he was migrated to a platform he did not subscribe for and yet was made to pay for the service.

When contacted on subscribers’ complaints regarding the length of the scanning period of the DSTV decoder, Segun Fayose, Head, Public Relations, Multichoice Nigeria, said that subscribers

have been advised severally to buy an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) to support their decoder so that when there is power outage or fluctuation, the decoder will pick up immediately, “this is the only way subscribers will not lose important part of a programme.”

On scrambled pictures after or during rain, he said that the problem is peculiar with the technology used, but that the company is still working on that.

Speaking about lost days,

Fayose advised that the best way to avoid this situation is for subscribers to make payment before the expiration date and that subscribers should put on their decoder before making payment, as this is the only way not to lose viewership.

He said that some subscribers remove their smartcard when they want to go and make payment, an idea he frowned at.

He that said when payment is made, instead of calling the Continues on page 27 C M Y K

20 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013

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Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013 — 21

Business & Economy BRIEFS PZ repackages ZIP, unveils new TVC

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he newly reformulated ZIP detergent from the stable of PZ Cussons has hit the market with a new television commercial. The Marketing Director Family Care SBU of PZ Cussons at a press briefing in Lagos, said the reformulation is aimed at delivering the best whites to Nigerians, the company also reinstated its commitment to innovation and a delightful washing experience for Nigerian consumers.

Speaking at the unveiling, the Marketing Director, Family Care, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, Ms. Sandy Griffiths said the company’s business initiative, hinged on consumer satisfaction is the driving force in its quest at meeting consumer expectations.

‘Zip as a brand has evolved through the years with a clear commitment to deliver whiter white and brighter clothes, thereby helping consumers put their best foot forward,’ she stated.

According to her, the new improved Zip detergent and introduction of the lemon variant, will give consumers more impetus to be proud of themselves and their families.

Panasonic unveils first Nollywood smart TV

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anasonic has unveiled the world’s First Nollywood Smart TV App iROKO TV In Nigeria for its Smart Viera TV brand.

The new iROKOtv App is designed to provide Panasonic Smart VIERA TV users with a catalogue of 5000+ Nollywood movies. iROKOtv has been dubbed as the ‘Netflix of Africa as it is one of the first VOD platforms in the continent. iROKOtv app has approximately 1Mn uniques visiting the site every month from 178 countries around the world.

The special feature of the app disables geo-lock facility enabling easy access to content from anywhere in the world. iROKOtv users can watch their preferred content from anywhere across the globe. iROKOtv app operates a freemium model; 95 percent of the site is free to watch.

However, there is also an option for subscription service called iROKOtv Plus where for $5 (N800) a month, users are the first to access brand new Nollywood movies and iROKOtv app releases 3 new movies every single week.

From left: President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Alhaji Kabir Mohammed: Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire and Mrs. Onome Olaolu, Council Member and Honorary Treasurer, ICAN; during the investiture of Olaolu as the chairperson of the Society of Women Accountants of Nigeria (SWAN).

Why entertainment industry is unable to access $200m AFDB fund

By FRANKLIN ALLI

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he president of Gabosky Films Inc, Gab Okoye, has given insight into why stakeholders in the entertainment industry are finding it difficult to access the $200 million African Development Bank (AfDB) facility.

The fund is being disbursed through the Bank of Industry to revamp and enhance the nation’s industrial and entertainment sectors.

However, Ibrahim Ahmed, Senior manager BoI, disclosed that over N2.5 billion has been approved and set aside for the entertainment sector and only N1 billion has been disbursed so far.

Speaking during the prelaunch press briefing of Gmedia, Okoye stated that BoI has shown it readiness to help stakeholders tackle the challenges of the entertainment sector by funding any innovative projects such as the G-media idea which is backed by N1.8 billion from the bank.

According to him, stakeholders in the sector are not producing bankable projects to encourage the development bank release funds to them.

He observed that most of the ideas being presented to the bank lacked in-depth research

and the requisite structure to be profitably sustained.

“The issue of distribution has often been identified as the major problem of Nollywood, as enthusiastic audiences across the world are unable to get their hands on the movies they love to

watch due to inadequate channels which allowed piracy to thrive at a globally unprecedented 82 per cent.

“One of the results of the distribution problems of Nollywood has been the withdrawal of some of the best hands that gave the industry

its early success from movie productions. When sales dropped drastically and less capable hands became the leaders of the industry, the major producers and directors thought it best to stay away from the rot,” he said.

He appealed to the professionals to come back to the sector and join hands together in order to rebuild Nollywood into a dynamic industry once again with the promise that G-Media will get their films to buyers on its new real-time auditable and sales verifiable platform.

“The first phase of the GMedia distribution project is set to commence in January 2014 with 25 ultra-modern stores spread across the country, 30 regional distributors as well as 4000 community distribution stores,” Okoye disclosed.

Continuing, Ahmed said the sector enjoys the full support of the bank’s managing director, Evelyn Oputu, who has set up a specialized division manned by dedicated professionals to attend to the needs of stakeholders.

“The bank decided to partner with Gabosky because we see the entertainment industry as a business and we are ready to deal with all that are ready to approach us in that light. Our mission is to transform Nigerian industrial sector and integrate it into the global economy by providing financial and business support services to existing and new industries to attain modern capabilities,” he said.

Why some businesses fail — FIRS F

ederal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), has blamed the failure of some businesses in the country on multiple taxation. Mr . Koffi Abassi, the Head, Micro and Small Tax Payers Department, said this at the 2013 National Revenue summit organised by Centre for Economic Research and Development.

The summit sought to explore ways to improve revenue generation, allocation and monitoring in the three tiers of government.

He said that one of the factors contributing to multiple taxation was the contracting of private agents by some states to collect taxes on commission basis.

Abassi said that though it could be argued that the practice had resulted in improve debt recovery rate for some states, it however had a negative effect on the economy.

He said that one of the negative effects was the allegation of imposition of multiple charges on innocent businesses.

“When you use tax contractors you virtually have less control over their modus operandi.

They are interested in using the means they feel expedient to get more commission even when the method applied is wrong. Because of all these, the National Economic Council (NEC) made up of the 36 governors and former heads of states among others recently resolved to abolish the use of tax contractors

in the country. This is because of the perceived burden on citizens due to multiplicity of taxes imposed by these tax contractors,” he said. Abassi advised states that want to use tax contractors to only engage them to play advisory roles.

He said that they could be also engaged in capacity building and education of the informal sector on the importance of paying tax.

Mr Omar Hambagda, former Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Privileges said the legislature’s most important role was its function in budgetary allocations. Hambagda in a paper on the role of the legislature in appropriating funds for government use said that legislative control of the country’s finances was meant to curb the excesses of the executive.

“The legislature has the final say in appropriating funds as they represent the people, therefore, better equipped to direct resources to areas that are most beneficial to them. “The legislature can approve or reject out rightly, any demand for appropriation of funds, or accept it with modification and amendments when it deems it necessary,” he said.

Participants were drawn from State Houses of Assembles, Local Governments Councils, States and Local Government Boards of Internal Revenue Service, among others.

22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013

Business & Economy

SON tightens surveillance on importers of substandard products

By FAVOUR NNABUGWU

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he

Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, has tightened its surveillance on importers of fake and substandard products in order to rid the nation’s markets of poor quality goods.

The Director-General of SON, Dr. Joseph Odumodu said the organisation has been keping a close watch on importers of fake and substandard to curb the menace, adding that the agency recently staged a sensitisation programme in Abuja, Onitsha and Aba to effectively tackle the menace of substandard goods.

He also said that the agency had also entered into partnership with traders in major markets to enhance information about the activities of the importers of the fake and substandard goods “The time for fighting has gone; it is time for collaboration and discussion that is why we invited the representatives and executives of marketers association in Abuja and other related stakeholders that will help us do this work, because SON cannot do this alone, it needs the cooperation and assistance of the marketers that are selling these goods to protect Nigerians and your own relatives from the import of these substandard product in our country.

“We have gone to major markets in Nigeria to preach this philosophy to engaging traders to d He explained that patronage of Nigeria made goods would ensure that any sub-standard products manufactured in the country could easily be traced by the organisation and the manufacturer punished o the right thing and we will go to Lagos soon”.

He added that he had engaged stakeholders in FCT on a number of occasions to ensure that the territory was free of substandard goods.

“SON has passed the era of seizing traders’ goods and burning them,” he said.

He implored Nigerians to patronise home-made goods “so that if you have any complain we will be able to trace the manufacturer, but

when you keep buying goods that are made abroad and when there is complains, it

becomes very difficult to trace the manufacturer and cut the thing at the root. So

patronise our people that are trying to create jobs for our children,” he urged..

BRIEF Private sector key to eradicating unemployment — Dr. Kolade

By PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

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From left: Immediate Past President of Nigerian Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dr. Herbert Ajayi; National Vice President, Alhaji Sanusi Maijama and Executive Committee Member, Prince Emeka Ayabazu during the National Sensitisation/Investors' Forum on proposed Sealink Project organized by NACCIMA in Lagos.

Indulge boosting productivity at work places — Bisi Abiola

By FRANKLIN ALLI

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ndulge Nigeria Ltd has been boosting productivity at work places through its wellness advocacy, Feel Good Festival and Award for the past eleven years.

Every year, the company’s event attracts participants from local firms like Popular Foods; Promasidor and Nigerian Breweries PLC. Others are Unilever, Grand Cereals Ltd, UAC Foods, Gossy, Mr. Biggs, Nutricima Nigeria Ltd and PZ Cussons, Chi Limited, etc.

Dr. Bisi Abiola, managing director Indulge Nigeria Ltd, disclosed this in a review of the company’s operation for the outgoing year and outlook for 2014.

“2013 was a challenging year for most businesses, however just like any entrepreneur’s survival instinct, it is about strategic planning, and execution, by cutting off non-essentials and focusing on priorities, most importantly focusing on the Indulge brand intrinsic worth - which is wellness entrenched - and nothing more,” she said.

According to her, the company has made giant efforts towards actualising her vision through series of activities and products that promotes wellness in the workplace and encouraging family quality time together through the ‘Feel Good Festival.’

“All our activities and products have definite tangible impact on, not just workers

but also, all categories of people cutting across ages and socio- economic status, “Indulge vision is healthy lifestyle for all by 2020, hence its strategies encompasses dissemination of health and fitness information to people, advocacy for a healthy lifestyle, and highlighting the importance of a healthy lifestyle to preventive care, which carries minimal cost when compared to the high cost of the curative alternative,” she stated.

She recalled that this year ’s edition of the seminar provided an enabling environment that unleashes the ‘feel good’ experience on participants.

“After the opening words from Dr. Femi Olugbile, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health and Dr. Bolaji Adebiyi, Medical Director/CEO, Alimosho General hospital’s presentation on ‘Cancer of the Breast: Prevention Tips’, there was no room for boredom through the highly interactive experience sharing on stress management, dancing, aerobics and balloon popping activity,” she said.

“The ‘Feel Good Festival’ at the Jhalobia Gardens, Airport road, provided opportunity for families to have quality time together and seize the opportunity for free medical checks.

“It was a day of exciting and pulsating aerobic music which got several people moving to different physical exercise footsteps, whereas others engaged in sports activities like football, skipping, and table tennis,” she stated.

rivate sector engagement has been described as crucial to the eradication of unemployment in Nigeria and key to the success of Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS).

These were the words of Dr. Christopher Kolade, Chairman of SURE-P Committee, who was represented by Professor Kunle Wahab, member of the SURE-P Commilt.ee at the workshop organised by Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P on its Graduate Internship scheme, GIS, to sensitise Nigerians on the activities of the programme.

The workshop, which was the first in a series of four, was organised to sensitise the private sector on the GIS campaign to attracted firms, organisations, the civil society and Non Governmental Organisations, NGOs. Kolade said that the private sector as the engine room of economic development arid national manpower it has a crucial role to play in addressing the problem of graduate unemployment in Nigeria, “this is a key issue which firms and other organizations should see as a corporate social responsibility: they should therefore register with the scheme arid take interns, as well as mobilize other firms to do the same.’

He described the GIS as a public private partnership (PPP) in which Federal Government under President Goodluck Jonathan provides the platform and resources while the private sector provides the training and skills so that the unemployed graduates can acquire what is required to get decent jobs after the one-year internship.

He however charged the firms to see their support for the scheme not only as a partnership, but a clear demonstration of corporate social responsibility. He averred that graduates are not as unemployable as is being pain led as many interns arc being disengaged by firms tor immediate employment.

Besides, he said: ‘“the interns are meant to be rnentored by their employers as they have no working experience, as such, they should not be expected to be hands-on.

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013 — 23

Banking & Finance

Diamond Bank partners Lagos to train artisans on financial literacy

BY JONAH NWOKPOKU

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s part of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, Diamond Bank Nigeria Plc has trained over 500 people on financial literacy in Lagos.

Speaking to Vanguard on the initiative, Diamond Bank’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Ayona Trimnel said that the training is in partnership with the Lagos State Government and that the beneficiaries come from artisans training at the 18 Skills Acquisition Centres built by the state.

She explained that the bank has so far visited the Skills Acquisition Centres in Surulere, Lagos Island, Mushin, and Anthony village training over 500 artisans on financial literacy Further speaking on what inspired the move, Trimnel said, “When we were looking at CRS initiative we really wanted it to be something that will be impactful. We wanted to something that would be meaningful that we will do in the community in which we serve. We wanted to add value.

“This is because; whatever CSR initiative we are doing has to be in those areas that would be meaningful, something to give back to the society. So we asked ourselves; how do we impact the youths in Lagos? So we went to Lagos State government who said they have 18 Skills Acquisition Centres and young people who are there, learn different vocational skills in Carpentry, Computer Programmes, Hair Dressing, Fashion and Design, Barbing and we began to think of how we can add value to that.

“Now even if they acquire these skills, they cannot start business without money, so we started asking for how we could come in to teach them how they can access finance for their business and the basics of investments.

BY BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

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igerians are increasing patronising money services to make payment and access financial services, despite debate over the methodology adopted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

In 2009, as part of efforts to promote electronic payment the CBN introduced the mobile payment framework.

The framework is to guide the business of mobile money, which is the use of mobile phones for payment and to access financial services.

Thereafter, the apex bank issued mobile money licenses to 16 firms/consortia namely Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, and Fortis MFB. Others are UBA/ Afripay, GuarantyTrust Bank Plc/MTN and First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Pagatech, Paycom, M-Kudi, Chams, Eartholeum, E-Tranzact, Parkway, Monitise, FET and Corporeti.

The framework however restricted the participation of mobile network operators (MNOs/Telcos) to provision of infrastructure to banks or licensed mobile payment operators. Specifically, the framework banned Telcos from receiving deposits from the public except in the respect of prepaid air time time billing of their subscribers. It also disallowed the use of the prepaid airtime value loaded by their subscribers for the purpose of payment or to transfer monetary value. This restriction has been faulted by some financial experts and the Telcos as well. “It is wrong to prohibit MNOs, a key stakeholder with significant resources and national outreach, from directly participating in the mobile money sector ”, said Robin Hofmeister, a payment specialist with the World Bank. Addressing a gathering of electronic payment experts recently, he recommended that the CBN should revise the 2009 regulatory framework for mobile payment services to level the playing field and intensify competition, particularly by allowing MNOs to be licensed as mobile payment system operators (MPSOs).

Prior to this recommendation, Tunde Kuponiyi, Director, Tele Banking, Globacom, had made a case for increased participation of Telcos in mobile money services. He said mobile money is a telecommunication-driven retail network, hence the need for a bigger chunk of the

From left, Executive Secretary/ CEO, Financial Reporting Council, Mr. Jim Obazee, Group Mnaging Director/ CEO, Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Godwin Emefiele and Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government, Mr. Udom Emmanuel during the 10th Annual Financial Corporate Financial Reporting Forum held at Sheraton Hotels on Thursday.

Mobile Money: Growing amidst debate over methodology business for the telecom firms.

Emmanuel Obaigbona, Deputy Director/Head, Payments System Banking Operations Department, CBN, however defended the decision of the apex bank.

Speaking at a mobile payments services regulatory framework dissemination workshop, he said, “the restriction among other things is to ensure that larger networks are not given undue advantage based on their wide coverage hereby excluding other payments service providers from access to their customers. It is also to ensure that all mobile payment traffic are given equal priority during transmission by the Telcos without prejudice to their

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BRIEF

Tayo Oviasu, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the company, said, “Since inception two years ago, Paga has processed 4.4 million transactions worth over N47 billion, with a 33 per cent active user rate, which is higher than industry norm.

Paga recorded 874 per cent growth in number of users from 40, 354 to 381,972, and as at now it has recorded 162 per cent growth in 2013, to over one million. Presently 12 people make transactions on Paga every minute. This achievement, he said, makes Paga the fastest growing mobile payments company in the country and indeed Africa.

Established in 2009 with products targeted at the

The topic of mobile payment adoption in Nigeria tends to elicit a somewhat mixed reaction of real-life application but we are happy to see the numbers starting to paint a very different picture.

own consumer generated traffic. igerians however seems to be more interested in the convenience and comfort of using their mobile phones to conduct transactions than the debate over the restrictions of telcos.

A testimony to this was unveiled by Paga, one of the companies licensed by the CBN to render mobile money services.

Last month the company announced the achievement of one million users on its mobile payment platform, the first by any mobile payment company in the country.

Providing more insights into the growing adoption of mobile money by Nigerians,

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critical needs of Nigeria’s growing cashless economy, the company’s growth was achieved with constant product innovation, a rapid growing team spread across the country, over 800 merchants, and over 3,500 agents in 150 cities in 25 states nationwide.

According to Jay Alabraba, Co-Founder of Paga, The company’s growth is a vote of confidence for the mobile money framework adopted by the CBN. He said, “Paga’s reaching one million users is a noteworthy achievement not just for Paga but for the entire industry and the CBN, whose financial inclusion and cashless economy vision we wholeheartedly support. It

confirms the significant growth prospects for mobile payments in Nigeria and the country’s willingness to key in to convenience that platforms like Paga provide. We are proud of the achievement but building sheer numbers has never been Paga’s goal. Our goals are to bring efficient payment systems to all Nigerians, banked or unbanked, and deliver low cost banking services to the mass market. Through our agent network, Paga will continue to educate and empower communities across the country by providing convenient access to financial services. “ similar sentiment was expressed by the umbrella body of licensed mobile payment operators, the Association of Licensed Mobile Payment Operators (ALMPO). Chairman of the Association, Dara Owolabi, noted, “In an industry that is struggling to find its footing, Paga’s achievement is welcomed news with optimism for the future of mobile payments.”

He concluded with a subtle reply to the critics of the framework adopted by the CBN. “The topic of mobile payment adoption in Nigeria tends to elicit a somewhat mixed reaction of real-life application but we are happy to see the numbers starting to paint a very different picture.

More and more service is being validated by growing industry figures, proving that the bank led model chosen by the CBN is working and is the best way forward for Nigeria.

It also shows that Nigerians are ready and eager to adopt new payment channels.”

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Corporate Finance BRIEFS China bans financial companies from Bitcoin transactions

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hina’s central bank has barred financial institutions from handling Bitcoin transactions, moving to regulate the virtual currency after an 89-fold jump in its value sparked a surge of investor interest in the country.

Bitcoin plunged more than 20 percent to below $1,000 on the BitStamp Internet exchange after the People’s Bank of China said it isn’t a currency with “real meaning” and doesn’t have the same legal status. The public is free to participate in Internet transactions provided they take on the risk themselves, it said.

The ban reflects concern about the risk the digital currency may pose to China’s capital controls and financial stability after a surge in trading this year made the country the world’s biggest trader of Bitcoin, according to exchange operator BTC China.

Bitcoin’s price jumped more than ninefold in the past two months alone, prompting former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to call it a “bubble.”

“The concern is that it interferes with normal monetary policy operation,” said Hao Hong, head of China research at Bocom International Holdings Co. in Hong Kong.

U.S. stocks decline as economic data fuel stimulus bets

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.S. stocks declined a fifth day, after improving economic data boosted bets the Federal Reserve will curb its monthly bond purchases sooner than estimated.

Microsoft Corp. fell 3.6 percent after comments from a Ford Motor Co. director indicated Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally would not take over Microsoft’s top job. Safeway Inc. slid 3.3 percent after Jana Partners LLC cut its stake in the supermarket chain. Apple Inc. rose 1.3 percent as China Mobile Ltd. moved closer to offering its 759 million subscribers iPhones.

The Standard & Poor ’s 500 Index (SPX) fell 0.2 percent to 1,788.60 at 12:39 p.m. in New York. The gauge has retreated 1 percent in the past five sessions for its longest slump since September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 31.60 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,858.17. Trading in S&P 500 stocks was 4 percent above the 30-day average at this time of day.

From left: Corporate Affairs Adviser, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Kufre Ekanem; GUS 10 Winner, Mr. Dennis Okike, receiving a gift from His Excellency Theodore. A Orji, Governor of Abia State during the official visit to present Dennis Okike to the governor at the Government House, Umuahia.

Shares of fast moving consumer goods’ firms over priced — FDC

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

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he shares of companies in the category of Fast Moving Consumer Goods, FMCG, listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, are presently over priced, said the Managing Director/CEO, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, FDC. He made the remark while presenting a paper, “2014The Year of Gathering Storm”, at the December edition of Lagos Business School Breakfast meeting.

Some of the consumer goods stocks on the official list of the NSE include: UACN, which closed transaction as at Thursday, December 5, 2013 at N63.75 per share. Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc trades N91.80; Northern Nigeria Flour Mill, NNFM, N24.37; Cadbury Nigeria Plc, N62.30 per share; PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, N37.50; Unilever, N60.56; and Nestle Nigeria Plc with the highest share price of N1,200 per share.

Some others are Dangote Flourmill, N9.35; Dangote Sugar, N11.07; UTC, N0.67; and Honeywell Flourmuill, which trades at N3.02 per share.

Giving further breakdown, he said that consumer goods dominated activity on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, accounting for over 31 percent of total transaction in the market, followed closely

by the financial services sector, which account for about 30 percent of market capitalisation, while the industrial goods sector has a significant weighting in the NSE led by Dangote Cement.

According to him, at a price/ earning ration of 13.60 percent, the Nigerian capital market has the propensity of attracting more foreign investors’ patronage, as it is

cheaper relative to other regional and international markets.

Presently, the price earning ratio of S&P 500 (USA) stands at 16.91 percent; Nairobi securities Exchange, NSE, (Nairobi) stands at 14.75 percent, while that of Johannesburg Stock Exchange, JES, stands at 19.26 percent.

He affirmed that the rally

recorded so far in the equities market will continue into the first quarter of 2014 ‘before the fizzle of the sizzle.’

The FDC boss also stated that the market is gradually striking a balance in transaction, as it almost evenly distributed between domestic and foreign investors.

He noted that foreign portfolio investments, FPI, transactions accounted for 52.3 percent of total transactions in August. It stood at 36.9 percent in January and peaked at 64.48 percent in April.

Globally, he said that the equities market have shown significant growth, since their quarter one (Q1) 2009 trough with the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s All share Index, NSE ASI, increasing by 96 percent from 2009 quarter one low.

“The NSE ASI has increased 38.6 percent for the year. Now at 38,920.85 basis points compared with 28,078.81 basis points at the end of 2012, the bourse grew 6.38 percent quarter-to-date, QTD. “Some have reached all-time highs. Dow Jones breaches 16,000 reaching an all-time high in 2013; S&P 500 also increases to pass the 1,800 mark for the first time; The MSCI Frontier markets index has increased 18.86 percent year-to-date; FTSE 100 approached pre-crisis level of 6730.71 in 2013,” he explained. He, however, said that the market is yet to recover from the 2008 crash, adding that it needs to increase by further 60 percent to realise its pre-crash peak.

Honeywell invests N10bn in new milling plants

By PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU Honeywell Flour Mills Plc has disclosed plans to build a 63-hectre industrial estate that will house milling and pasta factories in Nigeria, even as it invests about N10 billion in two newly constructed milling factories to boost flour production.

The Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Babatunde Odunayo, who made this disclosure while on tour of the newly constructed milling plants, said the plant was to help increase the production of flour in the country.

He also added that the project will support the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina’s resolve to make flour available for Nigerians.

According to him, “We are ready to increase supply of flour. We will not increase prices of our products because of the new machines that costs us about N10 billion to put in place.”

Continuing, he stated, “We want to show to Nigerians what we have been able to achieve. What we are saying in addition is that this company is an indigenous company with Nigerians at the helm of affairs. This is what we have achieved, the company has moved from a 100 percent family business

since 2009 to a quoted company. This is a clear example of an indigenous business growing at a geometric dimension.”

Calvin Grieder, Chief Executive Officer of Buhler, a Switzerland company and builders of the milling plants, while commenting on the plants said that Honeywell did not compromise in the construction of the plants, and was emphatic that Nigerians should be assured that they have good milling factories in the new mills.

According to him, “This is not done for quick returns for Nigerians, but quality and assurance. It is a state- of- the –art and a master piece to behold. We are proud to be associated with Honeywell. This is a Nigerian company, run by Nigerians.”

While advising the management of Honeywell, Grieder said: “The best Honeywell should d o is train the people because there should be harmony between the people and the machine.”

Commending the efforts of the management of Honeywell, Chairman of the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter, represented by the Vice Chairman, Mr. Philip Ogunjobi, pleaded with the company not to increase the price of their products.

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Corporate Finance

Foreign investors commit $5.4bn on domestic bond — SEC Stories by PETER EGWUATU

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he Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, said that foreigners invested about $5.4 billion in Nigerian bonds. This represents a growth of 350 per cent from $1.2 billion recorded in September 2012.

The commission also said

the Nigerian economy has done better growing by 6.81 per cent in the third quarter of the year from 6.18 per cent in the corresponding period of 2012.

Director General, SEC, Ms. Arunma Oteh, who disclosed this during the just concluded third Capita Market Committee, CMC said “2013 has been a transition year showing a

mixed picture of the global economy.

While the first half of the year raised concerns on the fragility of global growth with what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) calls ‘3-Speed growth’, the second half is raising hopes of the return of growth as advanced economies are gradually strengthening, despite the slowdown of

certain emerging markets.

The IMF’s latest outlook expects the world economy to grow by 2.9 per cent in 2013 and accelerate to 3.6 per cent growth rate in 2014.

Sub-Saharan Africa continues its impressive growth expected to be sustained at 5.3 per cent in 2013.” Continuing, she said “Domestically, the Nigerian economy has done better as r e c e n t l y r e l e a s e d figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that our e c o n o m y accelerated to 6.81 per cent in Q3 2013 from 6.18 per cent in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, the economy continues to enjoy a stable macroeconomic environment with inflation contained in single digits since the beginning of the year (currently at 7.8 per cent year-on-year) while the Naira’s foreign exchange value has remained largely stable at an average of N157.31 to the U.S. dollar.

The economy ’s positive outlook and macroeconomic stability have undoubtedly attracted significant inflows thereby supporting the current rally in our market. ”Commenting on the state of Nigerian bond market, she said” In April 2013 our domestic bond market got a huge boost following the inclusion of Nigeria’s sovereign bonds in Barclay’s Emerging Market Bond Index in addition to its admission into the JP Morgan local currency bond index in October 2012. This has put our local currency bond market within the radar of foreign investors who year-to-date, have invested an estimated $5.4 billion.”

Shareholders charged to diversify investment for wealth creation

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HAREHOLDERS have been encouraged to diversify their investment in the capital market for further wealth creation.

National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu, who gave the advice to its members at the 2013 Triennial Delegates Conference held in Lagos said “Though recent investment policy in the Nigerian capital have alienated shareholders and has gradually turned portfolio investment into an elastic club there is still ample opportunities for the retail investors if they could diversify their investment. As a pressure group, we will continue to challenge the government and regulators to create an investment level playing ground that will recognize local investors to building a virile capital market.

Continuing, he said “We subscribe to an internalized market and a well managed capital market that will help in transforming the economy.” Speaking at the event, the chairman of the occasion, Prof. Wale Omole, former Vice Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, commended the ISAN and its National Coordinator, Sir Nwosu for organizing the triennial conference to educate its members on the activities of the capital market and the economy in general.

According to him “This year’s conference is really apt as it focuses on post global recession era and the challenges and opportunities. So I commend ISAN leaders for ensuring that shareholders are protected, educated and involved in contributing to the development of the economy.”

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Cover Story

Commodity Index Nov 29 - Dec 5, 2013

Nigerians groan under Multichoice’s pay tv Continues from page 19 customer care, the subscribers should send an SMS to a code, he advised.

Complaints trailed GOtv, also owned by Multichoice.

The complaints started pouring some months after it was launched and before Nigerians hardly enjoyed its services.

In defense of GOtv, the Public Relations Manager for GOtv, Efe Obioma, agreed that during the mentioned days, the company had serious challenge with transmission glitch, but said: “The loss of some channels in Lagos has been as a result of conflict in signal distribution which was caused by third party interference. We are urgently working on a technical solution to remedy this problem. Some GOtv channels are still available; however, it is dependent on where the subscribers are located.”

Exset, pioneers of TV ecosystems for emerging markets, revealed that its unique digital broadcast ecosystem - Digital Monetization System -DMS, will provide the ideal solution to subSaharan Africa ‘s digital broadcasting growth among those who cannot afford premium subscription services.

While speaking at the Digital Broadcasting Summit and Expo in Arusha, Tanzania hosted by the Southern African Broadcasting Association and BSP Media Group, Andrew Pons, Exset’s Director of Marketing, said the company will be exploring DMS and the multifaceted benefits that it brings to emerging markets.

“Exset understands that pay-TV needs a new monetisation model for emerging markets in order to succeed. That is why it created DMS,

a unique business and technology model that makes pay-TV selffinancing without spending exclusively on subscriber fees for revenue,” Pons said. According to him, DMS bridges the gap between technology supply and value-added service creation, facilitating digital television platforms that can be monetised where previously virtually impossible.

He went on to say that this allows subscribers to benefit from new information and entertainment services. “Partnering with Exset, monetised digital switchover will assist in bringing about social transformation”, he said. By deploying DMS, a very low subscription model of a few dollars a month can be charged for the digital television service, with additional operator income gained through selling the interactive TV space to governments (for health and education information dissemination), magazines, local service providers, teleshopping – the list goes on.

Rahul Nehra, Global Head of Sales and Marketing at Exset, said, “There’s a combination of issues in sub-Saharan Africa countries that have held up the roll out of digital TV services to vast swathes of the population. The digital divide is therefore increasing with governments coming under pressure from a variety of international bodies to tackle this. The TV set is the ideal way to allow people to access new, exciting services at a cost they can afford via digital broadcast infrastructure that are practical to deploy.”

Food production crashes inflation in 2013—FG

BY GABRIEL EWEPU

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HE Federal government attributes the reduction in inflation rate in 2013 to enormous food production by farmers across the country through sustained financing in the agricultural sector.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina at a meeting between the ministry, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and some banks’ executives.

Adesina said the performance by farmers in the sector had kept inflation at a lower rate following the proper utilisation of loans accessed from banks to boost their activities. He commended the effort of the CBN and banks that were committed to actualise the Agricultural Transformation Agenda, ATA, by lending massively to farmers.

Adesina said: “Inflation is coming down in Nigeria for the first time since 2008 and that is a remarkable thing.

This is happening because the Central Bank Nigeria, CBN, is doing a fantastic job in terms of monetary policy and the fact that agriculture is actually expanding in this country.

“When the inflation figures were

released by the Director-General, National Bureau of Statistics, Dr. Yemi Kale, is on the decline. Inflation largely is also attributable to the slow rate in the increase of food prices, the recent harvest continue to contain food prices.

“That is to say farm harvest is also doing wonders. So basically you get CBN and agriculture working, and that is why you are finding that inflation is going down as fast as it is, and is the fastest rate since 2008.

“The total amount lent to farmers this year 2013 was N20billion as against N3.5billion in the preceding year, this expression of confidence in the farmers came as a result of creation of institutional structures in form of value chains which have done so much to create and sustain confidence to fix the value chains, will continue to reduce the risk of lending by banks to agric sector.”

The banks who had been providing loan includes Access Bank, Diamond Bank, Enterprise Bank, First City Monument Bank, Jaiz Bank, First Bank and Mainstreet Bank. Others are Sterling Bank, United Bank Africa, Unity Bank, Wema Bank, Zenith Bank, Union Bank and Bank of Agriculture.

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Micro-Finance

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sure you’ve provided other things. Things like collateral, how do you lend money to a woman in the village and then expect her to pay back?

AST week, Women in Successful Carrier (WISCAR) hosted the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mallam Lamido Sanusi as keynote speaker during their 5th anniversary celebration with the theme: ‘Unlocking the full potential of women in the Nigerian Economy.’

Here were his responses to questions on Small Medium Enterprises and gender, filed by the discussants (Mrs. Adenike Ogunlesi, Founder, Ruff n Tumble; Mrs. Ayo Obe, Legal Practitioner and partner Ogunsola Shonibare and Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Mrs. Sola David-Borha).

EXCERPT: Most of the world businesses are SMEs. America was built on small businesses; they are the engine of real growth, but in Nigeria, interest rate is killing small businesses. How are you addressing this?

I agree with you. The interest rate can not be looked at in isolation. The argument has to be an economic argument; economic argument says, “What are the alternatives?” I always tell people that delivering low interest rate is the easiest thing for a central bank to do. If I print enough money today, interest rate will come down to three percent, but what will the rate of inflation be, what will the exchange rate be?

Recently, I have been criticized, but at the time I glanced on the 50 percent Cash Reserve Requirement, CRR, on public sector, the Indian rupee lost 20 percent of its value; South Africa rand lost 16 percent of its value, Ghanaian cedi lost 15 percent of its value; Indonesia rupiah lost 18 percent of its value, the Brazilian real lost 12 percent of its value, while the Nigeria Naira lost only 2.3 percent. Where would you have been if the Naira had become N190.00 to the dollar over night? You go to bank and get it at N158 and the banking system is if you buy from other marketer, which is a different matter; if you are a genuine business person, you don’t get it at less than N158 and that is inter bank rate.

The reason with 173 is because there was so much cash dollars being pumped to BBC’s to sell to people who where not doing legitimate transactions, if you are a politician and you want to pay N200 to the dollar, am not going to make the dollar cheap for you, but a genuine business that establishes an outfit, to import goods and services goes and buy at inter bank rate and it is 158, 59.

You have to keep a stable currency at the time when currencies are crashing because

By PROVIDENCE OBUH you have inflation today.

Before I became governor, the are two ways, first, the banking rate of inflation was 15.6 industry; I have said before, percent, today it is 7.8 percent. the industry as a whole is a You borrow money, but there are monopoly, if you want finance in this country, you don’t have a 100 million Nigerians more a venture capital fund, you who do not know the way to a don’t have a PE fund, the bank. For these people who capital market is not giving it have no social safety net, to you, you got $25 billion in bringing down inflation, affects pension money that is not going their lives, they don’t want to to infrastructure, everybody go the market on their small from the power plant, to the salary and find that next month construction company, they cannot feed their family.

Mortgage, everybody is going I have to keep inflation down to the bank. for these people, I have to keep a stable interest rate for you to nce you have a pay the school fees of those monopoly you have a children, you don’t want to pay monopoly price, you’ve got to school fees at N100, and next create competition for the bank time is N200. I have to build and the only way to create that up the reserve of this country, competition is to build a proper so that if there is an all price financial market where pension shock, the country can continue funds are players, insurance going and the debt can be paid. companies are players, where The high interest rate is the PE fund are players, venture price you pay for this. To talk capital funds are players, then about the price of interest, is an people knows where to go.

Second problem, why you argument in finance and business is not an argument in complain of interest rate, it is economics. The low interest rate not the biggest of your problem. itself is not a problem, I can If you look at the cost structure deliver it, you want low interest of SMEs doing production, rate, I can give it to you, but power, security, if you want to where do you want inflation, 15 set up a textile firm today, you percent, exchange rate 180, are your own power plant, your 190, is simple. The way interest own security company, you may rates are going to come down have to build your own road,

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•Sanusi Lamido, CBN Governor

Interest rate is not the biggest problem of SMEs

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Every time we focus on interest rate we forgot the point, the point is that we are not doing development, it is the role of the state to provide electricity, security.

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by the time you borrow from the bank, you are not borrowing to buy machines or to buy inventory, you are borrowing to buy a power plant and that is enough trouble. If you have electricity, security, good road, well trained staff that will give you value for money, you will pay 26 percent and be profitable. Every time we focus on interest rate we forgot the point, the point is that we are not doing development, it is the role of the state to provide electricity, security.

The CBN has used its balance sheet in a way that is unprecedented to provide low interest funding to critical areas.

What are you doing besides throwing money at the problem?

The reason we are partnering with the government is because we realise that you cannot just solve a problem by just throwing money at it. In fact, it is counter productive; the Memorandum of Understanding with states actually defines the framework within which money is being given. We at the CBN have six entrepreneurship development centre, we train. We’ve had this partnership with Entrepreneurship Development Centre, EDC, for years, and we’ve been producing thousand of people and they need not find it difficult to get job.

What we are doing is that, they come in for longer period, they come in as an economic value chain; before they come in, and before they leave we know exactly what they are going to do and these finance then provide them with the capital to take off.

Is an entire ecosystem where it is like agriculture, industry, money only set within an economic system, what we are doing is to create silos, where the CBN work with the bank and lend money and nothing happens, now working with the government, we say this is development, there is need for education, training, infrastructure and need for finance. We can only provide finance, but we want to make

n Kano they set up community orientation council in every local government and in the village, you have the village head, IMAM, elders. You come and you borrow money in front of everyone, everybody knows you have borrowed, no collateral and you are to pay back in 18 months and if you don’t pay back, your brothers and your sisters won’t get the loan if they come requesting for it. They will pay back and most interesting is the way we structure these microfinance banks, if we lend to people in the state and we get fully paid, the state is able to get twice that amount, at a lower rate of interest. If you think out of the box, you find out that for a woman in a traditional village the humiliation of being seen as responsible for other people not getting the money is more than the fear of losing land and is far more effective collateral and it works, that is basically what we are doing.

You put up policies where you make five banks that are under your supervision to encourage gender in Nigeria initiative, what are you doing to encourage the banks and the big financial institutions to adopt it properly; what are you doing to actualize this policy, is CBN going to change the rule or change the policy?

Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, BOFIA, is very clear; the board of the bank can approve a policy around any bank it chooses. There is confusion in interpretation of bad loan, what BOFIA says is that you can not lend unsecured except you are relying with the created policy approved by the board. In any case, we are not asking the banks to lend unsecured. Land is not the only form of collateral and land is often not the best form of collateral, a lot of the time is just a lazy way of lending people who do not want to follow the cash flow and collect which is easier way you get paid and you can structure these things in such a manner.

Rural land is not a good collateral but we’ve designed methods of 15 value chains, unlocking ourselves into the cash flow chain, we make sure that the money disbursed to purchase seed, fertilizer, that the farmers are supervised when they plant, that the goods are moved to the end buyer and the buyer pays into the bank and we do that with a number of project that we have done, is just about being innovative and there are people that fought for this, institution that fought for this and women who can actually train themselves and design these product everyday.

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he objective of the waiver policy, the implementation of which was reviewed and strengthened in late 2011 is to curb the abuses and inefficiencies of the previous regime…There is evidence that it is working to boost key sectors of the economy.” Federal Ministry of Finance in November 2013.

On Monday, December 2, 2013, the PUNCH published a list of recipients of N65.23 billion in the last 24 months.

Shell Petroleum Development Company, collected N16.295 or 25 percent; Niger Delta Power Holding Company, received N15.1billion or 23.2 percent. So, two entities alone were beneficiaries of 48.2 percent of the total. Other lucky recipients included the following: Federal Ministry of Health, N4.9 billion; Rivers State Ministry of Power; N3.76 billion; Federal Ministry of Power; N4.17 billion; Geometric Power Ltd; N1.3 billion and Netco Dietsmann Company; N6.63 billion whie Rivers State Government got N2.08 billion. There were a few other recipients of the largesse, but, the list presented above, and which accounted for over 85% of the waivers, raises more questions about whether the abuses had actually been curbed or made worse.

Most Nigerians would want to know what the recipients did with the funds made generously available to them.

But, more importantly, the

Duty waivers, SWF & ECA: Three musketeers of economic management narrow geographical spread of the recipients call into question the objectivity of the Federal Ministry of Finance in granting the waivers. The claim that “there is evidence that it is working to boost key sectors” can easily be disputed by pointing out that the waivers granted to the Niger Delta Power Holding Company had not resulted in increase in power supply to the country. Neither has the N1.2 billion granted to Geometric Power Ltd, a private company, in which the former Minister for Power, Professor Nnaji, has substantial stakes, improved the situation.

Similarly, waivers given to the Federal government and the Rivers State government cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered as boosters to any sector of the economy – key or not.

Certainly, they have made no impact on manufacturing or agriculture, on food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, banking, insurance and education, as well as exports.

So, where is the “evidence that it is working?” One thing however is obvious. A quick glance at the list of recipients would reveal that they were all friends of the

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Apart from Duty waiver, the Federal government is still in court over the creation of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, SWF, and funding it to the tune of $1 billion.

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administration. The Minister of Petroleum Resources, as everybody knows, was an Executive Director of Shell before coming into government.

The waivers granted to Rivers State preceded the current political disagreements between the state governor and the President.

The more the Federal Ministry of Finance tries to wriggle out of the charges of nepotism made against it, the more it presents evidence for its own conviction. With the exception of the N1.33 billion granted to the Cocoa Association of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Health,

every waiver granted went to an organization in the South South or South East. The remaining four zones – North Central, North East, North West and South West — got next to nothing. Was that a true reflection of the economic activities in the country or was it deliberate distribution of our national wealth in favour of a few people in those two zones?

Apart from Duty waiver, the Federal government is still in court over the creation of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, SWF, and funding it to the tune of $1 billion. The original idea was to build up the fund gradually, over time, to serve as a cushion if in the future earnings from exports, especially crude, drop sharply. Nigeria is not the only country maintaining SWF. And, it needs to be restated here that it is a good idea – in principle.

But, like all good ideas, in principle, adoption of it by the Federal Government suffers from two major drawbacks.

First, it is doubtful if the constitution of Nigeria allows the Federal Government to deduct, upfront, from revenue that must be paid into the Federation Account and compels the states to save their money by creating the SWF. Second, the Federal

Government will manage the SWF on behalf of the states.

Granted, all the 36 states are represented on the unwieldy board managing the fund, the Chief Executive is still a FederalGovernment appointee and the decisions concerning the investments to be made will be heavily influenced by FederalGovernment preferences. Already, many people are pointing out that the Minister of Trade and Investments, Mr Segun Aganga, was a top manager of Goldman Sacks, one of the investment houses selected to manage the fund. Goldman Sacks lately has had a spotty performance record lately and would probably not be the choice of those investing their own funds. But, the Federal Government had selected it and the states must go along while the SWF lasts.

It might not last long because the Supreme Court will soon deliver judgment on its legality.Excess Crude Account, ECA, is another “rainy day” account unilaterally created by the Federal Government.

Nobody needs to be a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, to know that this account was created during the Obasanjo' Okonjo-Iweala regime.

E-Commerce

IBFCAgusto develops e-solution for credit management in banking Stories by JONAH NWOKPOKU

I

BFCAgusto Training Limited, a training consulting firm, has developed an electronic learning version of its Fundamentals of Credit Training Program to help drive credit management in the banking sector.

Unveiling the product in Lagos, the Managing Director, IBFCAgusto Training Limited, Mrs. Titilayo Olujobi,said the product would educate Nigerian lenders better on credit management and help to avert another crisis in the financial sector. According to her, “this issue of training came to the fore sometime in 2009 when we had the banking crisis, we now realized the fact that a lot of organization were growing

bigger, but they did not have the knowledge base to cope with their growth. Also because a lot of people in the banking sector did not know what they were doing, they didn’t know much about credit and this contributed to a high percentage of non- performing

loans which led to the crisis.

This is why we needed to respond to the need of the environment to meet the needs of our clients. And we agreed that one of the flagships for us is training. We decided to go into e-learning starting with fundamentals of credit.

“So we made sure that we developed a product that should address our local needs but also conforms to international standards. In developing this product which is targeted at Nigerian lenders, we are leaning heavily on the local capital market knowledge and

our case studies used local references and materials. So what we are doing is bringing a product that is targeted at Nigerian lenders and that any relationship manager or credit person will be able to relate to immediately.” Also speaking about the product, the Managing Director, Standard Bank, Mrs Sola Adesola, said the initiative is a progressive one and “an important milestone that will aid the growth and aspiration of the financial services sector to be world class.”

How traffic surge crashed Konga’s website

N

igeria’s online retailer ’s website, Konga.com recently crashed when it witnessed unprecedented traffic from online shoppers vying to exploit discounted sales opportunity of its "Black Friday" sales. Narrating the experience ,Konga’s Public Relations Startegist, Ifeanyi Abraham told Vanguard that the

discounted sales platform was received overwhelmingly by Nigerians, and thus beat the expectation and even the level of preparedness of the company.

“In just over one year of operation we decided to bring the biggest sale in US/Europe’s shopping year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday to Nigeria, calling the sale, The Konga.com ‘Fall ‘Yakata Sale’; we rolled

o u t ‘ A baddest sale ever liveth’ campaign on Social media, blogs, Radio, TV and every other platform available.

We announced the time of the sale as 9am on Friday Nov 29, 2013, upgraded our servers waiting for Nigerians to come and when the time came, Nigerians did not just come; they came at us with everything they had.

“The Konga.com website experienced a traffic surge unprecedented in Nigerian online shopping history and our website crashed, but our team did not give up, we promised Nigerians the baddest sale ever liveth and we kept pushing till we delivered it.," he said.

34 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013

Tax Matters BRIEFS

My agenda for SWAN — Olaolu

BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

T

NASME targets N26m from MSME conference

By WALE OSHIKOYA

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igerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) has targeted to rake in N26 million from its Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) International Conference and Exhibition.

The conference which has the theme ‘MSME as Catalyst for Economic Transformation and Social Stability,’ will kick-off tomorrow in Abuja.

A document made available to Vanguard by NASME, showed that the money is to be raised through sponsorship collaborations with companies in the public and private sector.

A breakdown of the figure showed that while platinum sponsorship cost N10 million, the gold and silver sponsorship go for N6 million and N4 million, respectively.

C M Y K

From left: Guy Kellaway- Category Business Manager Culinary, Nestle Plc; Mrs Olufunmilayo Bantefa; Director of fisheries Ministry of Agriculture and Coperatives; Dr. Yaqub Bashorun, Permanent Secretary and Prince Gbolahun Lawal, Hon. Commissioner Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives at the press conference on the Lagos Seafood Festival at the Lagos Bar Beach.

Modernizing tax administration with SIGITAS W

ith government spending rising, it is important for revenue administrators to devise ingenious means of improving tax collection. One sure way of doing so is automation of the tax collection process.

Recently the Federal InlandRevenue Service (FIRS) announced ongoing efforts to automate tax collection by 2014 with the Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) to be implemented on a tailored made solution known as the Standard Integrated Government Tax Administration System (SIGITAS). The primary goal of this project is to reengineer the tax administration service delivery, eliminate gaps and redundancies in the current administrative assessment processes by leveraging technology in line with global best practices ultimately leading to simpler taxpayer compliance.

The objective is to transform the tax administration systems. Optimize its contribution to national development.Broadly speaking, automation of the tax administration process will engender transparency and efficiency with little human interface. The most vital aspect of SIGITAS will be to widen the tax net, deepen compliance, create a friendlier environment for taxation as well as curb leakages in tax administration. Also, the introduction of SIGITAS will standardize processes which mean reduced turnaround times for service offerings to taxpayers.

A major highlight of the deployment of SIGITAS is the automation of unified communications and enterprise collaboration, document management portal, as well as the automated Value added tax collection system. ITAS is also primed to support taxpayers in complying with regulations by reducing the administrative burden on them and providing easy access to information as and when due. It is expected that by the time ITAS is deployed taxpayers will be able to view

,

he newly elected chairperson, Society of Women Accountants of Nigeria (SWAN) Mrs. Onome Olaolu has unfolded her agenda to move the society forward for the next two years.

Olaolu who is also the Executive Director, Risk Management, Fidelity Bank Plc, said: “My target is to reach out to market women and the SMEs in our vicinity, to help them with basic knowledge of how to keep accounting books and record financial transactions.

“I will build on the successes recorded by the previous exco to run the annual carrier talk.

SS1 &SS2 students from public secondary school are our target audience. We will encourage them to study accountancy and assure them of requisite mentorship support from SWAN. “I will also organise health talks, to help our ever busy members create time for their health and well being.

“It is my dream that the society will own her secretariat very soon. At the moment, this dream may seem tall; however, we are not daunted by this challenge. The executive will initiate and aggressively drive the process."she said.In addition, she disclosed that the society plans to adopt an orphanage and old people’s home. female arm of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of

Broadly speaking, automation of the tax administration process will engender transparency and efficiency with little human interface.

their entire tax history of filing and assessment with the FIRS.

I

to interact in a more transparent and confidential manner, while also providing valuable information for the taxpayer.

The deployment of SIGITAS should be encouraged by all stakeholders for many reasons. It will among other reasons reduce the country’s over-dependence on oil revenue with an expected surge in non oil taxes raising revenue figures needed for the development of social infrastructure. Also it is expected that the ITAS will signal a re-orientation of the

n order jurisdictions where SIGITAS had been introduced such as Mali and Rwanda, taxpayers are able to use the platform as a one stop shop- with easy integration of all tax types- registering a tax ID, data of transactions etc.

SIGITAS also has the capacity to handle a robust framework for tax roll, assessment, collection, audit, objection appeals, document handling, reporting, external system integration, system administration and accounting for each user.Instructively SIGITAS offers a platform for taxpayers and tax authorities

,

FIRS personnel in terms of skills and capacity in the business analysis function to meet the objectives of the institution as well as strengthen the governance and transparency with fair and equal treatment of taxpayers.

And to suit Nigeria’s ethnic diversity, it can be configured to be multilingual and offers a water tight security protection.

But for SIGITAS to be successful there is need for synergy and integration with other similar projects across revenue generating institution such as the recently deployed Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) for clearing of all imports into the country.

This essentially brings

importers into the loop of both the FIRS and Nigeria Customs Service simultaneously. This has impacted positively on the revenue collection profile into the federation account. So also for the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) integration currently ongoing nationwide which is being supervised by the Joint Tax Board (JTB). The FIRS also needs to build momentum in the synergy with the Corporate Affairs Commission so as to integrate their processes especially in the area of database building which makes it easier to reach the untaxed or “hard to tax”.

A successful ITAS project will be one that is able to create value for all stakeholders by simplifying taxpayer compliance processes, keeps pace with technological innovations, lowers cost of collection with seamless data and exchange of information synergy with key stakeholders (MDAs, banks etc) and support regulatory demands in a simplified manner. It willalso effectively encourage selfassessment filing of tax as against administrative assessment.

In summary, ITAS appears to be the answer to shoring up non oil tax in the face of dwindling oil revenues. A robust technology driven tax administration will definitely be able to achieve more if it fully optimizes the latent power it holds. The future of Nigeria’s social and economic development depends on a transparent and fair tax collection system that must keep improving to meet with social and infrastructural challenges.

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013 — 35

Agric

NVMA accuses FG of neglecting livestock industry STORIES BY GABRIEL EWEPU

T

HE Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association, NVMA, yesterday accused the federal government for neglecting the huge economic potentials in the livestock industry.

Speaking at a press conference, President of the association, Dr. Gani Enahoro, said government had failed to tap the massive resources in the livestock subsector as much emphasis was still laid on the oil and gas sector.

Enahoro said: “Nigeria ought to step up in recognising so many dormant resources, non-oil reserves and potentials, and as such that exists in animal and livestock resources. We have a lot of potentials trapped that the attention given to the oil sector has allowed such areas to remain untapped.

“We need as a country to de-

emphasize our dependence on oil alone as a revenue ear ner. The problem of unemployment and attendant criminality associated can be reduced drastically through a large scale government inspired animal farming. We should use the opportunities in livestock production to reduce youth unemployment in this country.

“The minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina is doing well in the agricultural transformation agenda, as veterinarians we believe the emphasis on crop is too overwhelming such that the livestock transformation agenda is not been given the due attention, despite the huge resources that is obtainable in this sub-sector of agriculture, and it is a source of worry for us.

“We believe as a profession that if you must have the best in terms of the available resources in animals in this

country, we must start thinking of having a separate ministry of animal health, livestock production and fisheries.”

According to Enahoro, the association has a membership of over 7, 000 registered veterinary doctors and nine veterinary schools. He added

that the association was established as a statutory regulatory body in 1963, after veterinary medicine was introduced as a course of study in 1963 in the University of Ibadan.

He said the association had made significant achievements in the livestock

industry as its effort had made Nigeria rinderpest disease free as certified by the World Animal Health Organisation, WAHO, and following the dexterity of its members avian influenza or bird flu was brought under control when it was discovered in Nigeria.

Gani also urged herdsmen to be tolerant and have feelings for crop farmers and avoid unnecessary clashes.

Fertiliser manufacturing receives $15.7 billion boost —FG

T

HE Federal government said the fertiliser sub-sector had received $15.7 billion boost of investment from foreign and local investors.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, while commending the commercial farmers from Zamfara State for embracing policies in the agricultural sector.

Adesina said the government had succeeded in weeding out corruption from the process of fertilisation distribution and sale, therefore increasing the number of seed companies from 10 to 30 within one year.

Adesina said: “The investment by fertiliser companies in the sector just went off the roof.

Alhaji Dangote is putting $9.2 billion into manufacturing and fertiliser plant. Indorama is putting in $5 billion to develop a big fertiliser manufacturing plant and Notre is putting $1.5 billion with the Mitsubishi Corporation of

Japan to expand their current plant.

“That tells you how many billion dollars going into the agricultural sector, because we have opened up the space.

“We cleaned up the corruption in fertiliser distribution under this administration in 90 days, because the President believes that the most important person is the farmer.

“When we started that last year it was a bold decision we made to weed out middlemen who were stealing the fertiliser. Today you get the fertiliser with your phone.

Speaking on the strategy used in addressing the challenge of middlemen and corruption in the fertiliser sub-sector, the minister said the Electronic Wallet that is a phone based system was introduced to eliminate the rot in the system. He further stated that Nigeria was the first in the world to develop the electronic wallet system to deliver subsidised seeds and fertilisers to farmers.

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36 — Vanguard, MONDAY,DECEMBER 9, 2013

International

Mandela’s economic legacy threatened by S. Africa's inequality

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•Mandela rising tax receipts enabled the post-apartheid government to extend welfare grants to about 16 million people and give more than 85 per cent of households access to electricity, up from 45 per cent in 1996.

I

nstead of nationalizing companies, Mandela coaxed foreign investors into the country. His ideological shift laid the groundwork for Lakshmi Mittal’s LNM Group to buy Africa’s biggest steelmaker in 2004 and London-based Barclays Plc (BARC) to take control of South Africa’s largest consumer bank in 2005. In 2011, Fayetteville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. bought a majority stake in the nation’s biggest general-goods wholesaler.

Restoring confidence in South Africa’s economy in 1994 was a significant achievement. Apartheid had turned South Africa into a pariah state, subjected to international sanctions and boycotts. The economy was hemorrhaging foreign capital, had only enough reserves to cover 10 days of imports and

was running a budget deficit of 9.1 per cent of gross domestic product.

Mandela asked Chris Liebenberg, who had just retired as chief executive

,

elson Mandela emerged from 27 years in apartheid jails in 1990 pledging to seize South Africa’s mines and banks. Four years later, his government slashed spending and courted foreign investors, paving the way for the longest period of growth in the country’s history.

The former president and Nobel Laureate, who died Thursday at the age of 95, was instrumental in getting the African National Congress, which led the fight against apartheid and has ruled ever since, to embrace an open economy.

“Only a Mandela could have realigned the ANC’s economic policy from the mindset of the 1950s, with the development state, with socialism, with nationalization, to the world of the 1990s and beyond,” Robert Schrire, a politics professor at the University of Cape Town, said in an interview. “He recognized that for the poor to prosper, the rich had to feel they had a future in the country.”

Yet Mandela’s legacy of economic stability is beginning to come under attack as the country fails to slash unemployment and reduce inequality. The jobless rate remains 24.7 per cent, while average earnings for black households are a sixth of their white counterparts. The ANC’s youth wing last year waged a campaign for the nationalisation of banks and mines, the very policies ditched by Mandela in 1994, and poor communities have staged a series of protests against a lack of housing and basic services.

The rand has plunged 19 per cent against the dollar this year, the worst performer of 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg, and was trading at 10.4751 in Johannesburg Friday. “We still have racial unemployment, racial poverty and racial inequality,” said Sidumo Dlamini, president of the 2.2-million-member Congress of South African Trade Unions, the country’s largest labour grouping and a member of the ruling alliance.

“Our country is still in white hands.” Mandela’s embrace of spending rigour and foreign capital allowed the economy to expand for 15 years, until the third quarter of 2008, when the global financial crisis pushed it into recession. That growth and

government would not be as astute in managing the economy as it should be. He came to me because I was a banker with lots of international contacts and experience.” In his first budget, Liebenberg raised taxes, equalized the tax system for all racial groups and slashed the defense budget. Those measures helped the government to raise $750 million in 1994 in its first post-apartheid international bond sale, 50 per cent more than originally planned. By 1999, the Finance Ministry had reduced the budget deficit to 2.3 per cent of GDP. Mandela also persuaded Chris Stals, the central bank governor, to postpone his retirement by five years to help manage the country’s transition.

“We made steady progress from day one on for those first five years,” Stals said in an interview. “Our main task was to bring us back into the world economy. Mr. Mandela certainly made a major contribution to that. The trust people had in him and his policies certainly enabled us to lay a very good foundation.”

Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of treason in June 1964, serving much of his sentence on Robben Island near Cape Town. His economic thinking was framed in terms of the ANC’s

Yet Mandela’s legacy of economic stability is beginning to come under attack as the country fails to slash unemployment and reduce inequality.

officer of what is now Nedbank Group Ltd., the country’s fourth-largest bank, to become finance minister.

He accepted the job on condition that South Africa would have a market-related economy and exercise fiscal discipline.

“Those were tough times,” Liebenberg said in an interview. “We were heading for bankruptcy. Mandela was very mindful that the ANC having not been in

,

1955 Freedom Charter, which called for the country’s mineral wealth and banks to be transferred to the ownership of the people.

“The question of nationalization of mines is a fundamental policy of the ANC,” Mandela said shortly after his release. “I believe the ANC is quite correct in this attitude and we should support it.”

A year later, he assured foreign companies their

investments were safe following talks with thenChinese Premier Li Peng, who told him nationalization wasn’t viable and that China was considering selling state companies.

“The world had changed while Mandela was in jail,” said Iraj Abedian, an economist who helped craft the Mandela’s administration’s 1996 hallmark economic policy, which won praise from international investors. “His engagement with the role players in the political, economic and financial world brought that reality home.”

Mandela helped set the broad parameters of economic policy, while leaving formulation and execution to his subordinates, according to Liebenberg, who now helps manage charities established by the former president.

“Until Mandela set his stamp on a policy I think it would not have been possible to drive it through the ANC,” Liebenberg said. “It certainly would not have been possible to drive it through government.”

A

bedian, now CEO of Pan-African Capital Holdings, a Johannesburg-based advisory service, was struck by the attention to detail that Mandela, a trained lawyer, gave to policy making.

“He would go through every document word by word, line by line,” Abedian said. “It was a question of understanding the rationale for every step, weighing it up, questioning it in detail, far more than people would believe.” Stals recounts how after Trevor Manuel was appointed finance minister in 1996 and the rand tumbled 8.8 per cent in the space of a month, Mandela would phone him two or three times a day for market updates.

“He showed a great interest in what we did and he was always quite well-informed,” said Stals. “He liked to discuss the monetary policy issues. He never really interfered, he never really gave instructions.”

Still, the stability that Mandela engineered in those early years after apartheid never made South Africa an economic dynamo. Economic growth has averaged 3.5 per cent since 2004, compared with 10.5 per cent in China and 7.7 per cent in India.

Moreover, the Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, has risen to 0.63 in 2009 from 0.59 in 1993, making South Africa one of the world’s most unequal societies.

Vanguard, MONDAY,DECEMBER 9, 2013 — 37

Business Tribute

Tribute to Uncle Rasheed - a Great Mentor of All Times

By WAHEED OLAGUNJU

B

ased on my association with Chief Rasheed Abiodun Gbadamosi over the past three decades writing a concise tribute can be quite challenging. In this period, he has meant quite a lot to me in many ways. From being a highly authoritative and distinguished resource person while I was Head of the Economy Desk at the Network News of the Nigerian Television Authority in the mid eighties to becoming a highly respected boss at the erstwhile Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB), which is the Bank of Industry’s (BOI) precursor institution, where he served as its longest serving Chairman between 1986 and 1994.

Within that period, Chief Gbadamosi also served as Chairman of the National Committee on Industrial Development (NCID) that was charged with the

responsibility of drawing up Nigeria’s Industrial Master Plan in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). I was similarly privileged to work with him on that epochal national assignment. He has since his post NIDB days remained a big uncle and mentor. Shortly after witnessing his being sworn in as Minister of National Planning in 1998 at the State House in Abuja, I was given the honour of making input into the appointment of his ministerial aides. The mentoring has continued till date.

I remain grateful to Chief Gbadamosi and Mallam Ibrahim Aliyu, the Managing Director and CEO of NIDB between 1989 and 1991 for jointly head hunting me from NTA News into joining NIDB in 1990. Their inspiring and precious support for me then as a Senior Manager along with those of their colleagues on NIDB’s board, notably Mr

Victor Odozie, then Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria and Chief (Mrs) Nike Akande who later became Minister of Industry and Alhaji Saidu Kasimu, who served up till August 2001 as the last MD & CEO of NIDB prior to the emergence of BOI in October 2001, prepared me for higher responsibilities.

Based on the initial capacity building and the solid foundation that they provided, their successors in the post NIDB era found me relevant and I was able to rise, over a period of 23 years, from middle and senior management grades to being appointed Company Secretary and eventually an Executive Director on the Board of the Bank of Industry.

In the course of interacting with Chief Gbadamosi, attending official, social and family events with him as well as undertaking local and foreign trips with him, especially study tours and development focused fora, I

•Rasheed Gbadamosi have had the privilege of broadening my exposure within and outside Nigeria and tapping into Chief Gbadamosi’s deep knowledge, wealth of experience and extensive network of domestic and foreign contacts. My maiden flight on board the concord, with him, between London and Bangkok for the World Bank Annual Meeting in 1991 would remain unforgettable. Most of his sterling qualities that include

insatiable quest for knowledge, hard work, drive, enterprise, philanthropy, penchant for excellence and perfection as well as values, ethics and beliefs have rubbed off on me considerably and have continued to propel and guide my career and family priorities particularly investing heavily in human capital development and paying considerable attention to the upbringing and education of ones children.

As we join you and our dear aunty Tinu - your darling wife, Kunbi and her siblings as well as the entire SOG family led by its strong and charming matriarch, aunty Wonu Folami, a.k.a mama Hakeem, in celebrating your 70 years of your very successful life, in the course of which you have continued to make phenomenal positive impact on nation building, humanity, different spheres of our society including the arts and music, private sector development and governance at state and national levels, may the Almighty Allah continue to prosper you and all yours as well as endow you all with long life, good health and happiness.

C M Y K

C M Y K Company Oil and Gas and Products Petroleum Prod ucts Capital Oil Plc 1st fTier Securities AGRICULTURE Crop Production FTN Cocoa Processors Plc Okomu Oil Palm Plc Presco Plc Livestock/Animal Specialities Livestock Feeds Plc CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. Levents Nigeria Plc Chellarams Plc John Holt Plc SCOA Nigeria Plc Transnational Corporation UACN Plc

Opening Price (N) 0.50

Daily Stock Market Report Closing Price (N) 0.50

Opening Price N

Quantity Traded

Year High

50,000

Year Low

0.50

E.P.S.

0.50

P.E. Ratio

Sim Capital Alliance Plc Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc UBA Capital Plc HEALTHCARE Medical Supplies Morison Industries Plc Healthcare Providers Union Diagnostics & Clinicals Services

0.09

0.50 43.00 37.20

0.50 42.40 36.55

207,000 526,090 41,198

0.50 24.58 8.30

0.50 14.53 6.40

0.10 7.33 2.75

50.00 2.77 4.37

4.66

4.19

636,807

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0.48

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1.55 4.15 1.17 5.32 3.93 63.75

1.64 4.15 1.29 5.32 3.56 63.75

107,583 100 6,066 33 247,794,242 248,853,487

2.54 7.60 8.82 8.28 1.82 42.50

1.45 6.43 5.89 5.52 0.50 28.70

0.16 0.31 0.00 0.35 0.24 6.89

5.18 20.74 0.00 15.77 3.64 4.14

Pharmaceuticals Ekocorp Plc Evans Medical Plc Fidson Healthcare Plc Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig May & Baker Nigeria Plc Neimeth International Pharm Nigeria-German Chemicals Plc Pharma-Deko Plc ICT Computer Based Systems Courteville Investment Plc Computers and Peripherals Omatek Ventures Plc

103.50 19.50 1.39

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9.71 18.03 6.71

2.23

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3.91 3.35 2.42 65.00 2.15 1.14 7.36 1.85

4.32 3.22 2.10 65.00 2.05 1.12 7.36 1.85

286 400 631,421 9,809 75,580 703,300 100 5,000

5.31 1.45 3.20 23.11 5.61 1.96 12.91 200

5.31 0.70 0.83 2.58 3.61 0.95 0.95 4.28

0.19 0.44 2.62 0.20 0.09 0.00 0.00

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0.52

0.50

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9.31 3.59

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20.90 8.00 50.00 10.05 195.50 0.50 1.49 100.00 6.25 2.00 10.93

21.10 8.00 50.00 9.30 195.00 0.50 1.47 100.00 5.68 1.95 10.93

907,141 33,791 245,135 114,288 48,934 58,000 227,367 91,897 1,500 201,439 30

30.00 12.57 43.98 15.49 132.51 0.75 3.51 48.05 5.28 3.36 13.40

12.00 8.10 15.16 4.16 95.00 0.50 1.02 36.58 5.11 0.51 10.93

2.14 1.09 2.28 1.47 7.56 0.00 0.00 4.10 0.44 0.23 0.00

7.86 4.97 8.88 2.31 13.17 0.00 0.00 42.86 14.19 2.89 0.00

1.71 2.70

1,000 2,717,101

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8.69

6.66

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Non-Metalic Mineral Mining Multiverse Plc

0.50

0.50

170

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0.50

0.01

0.00

Paper/Forest Products Thomas Wyatt Nig. Plc

0.87

0.87

43,412

1.38

1.38

0.00

0.00

Electronic and Electrical Products Cutix Plc Nigerian Wire & Cable Plc

1.70 0.50

1.78 0.50

162,970 840

2.50 2.58

1.62 2.58

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3.98 13.75 12.68 4.30 1.05 2.92 0.63

3.98 13.75 12.68 4.30 1.05 2.78 0.66

6,888 916 150 29,198 200 84,311 2,749,340

3.98 15.58 15.03 4.30 1.86 2.92 0.63

3.98 12.71 13.97 3.60 1.05 2.92 0.63

0.00 3.90 0.90 1.22 0.30 0.07 0.00

0.00 3.26 0.00 3.52 6.18 41.71 0.00

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Non-Building/Heavy Construction Julius Berger Nig Plc Roads Nigeria Plc

69.00 8.46

69.00 8.46

78,121,234 400

62.26 8.28

32.96 3.01

18.00

18.00

187,562

20.15

11.59

1.69

7.33

100.00 50.00

100.00 50.00

1,000 -

100.00 -

97.00 -

11.75 -

8.51 -

0.50

0.50

10,000

0.50

0.50

0.00

0.00

16.99 260.00 23.88 164.00 0.77

16.95 260.00 22.21 168.41 0.77

1,339,945 354,770 382,462 365,235 10,000

4.63 255.00 7.10 100.00 1.01

2.23 186.00 5.23 72.50 0.93

0.00 9.95 0.41 5.08 0.00

0.00 19.98 16.29 22.22 0.00

Beverages-Non-Alcoholic 7-UP Bottling Company Plc

71.40

71.40

12,400

51.49

,39.00

2.69

13.92

Food Products Dangote Flour Mills Plc Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc Flour Mills Nigeria Plc Honeywell Flour Mill Plc National Salt Co. Nig Plc UTC Nigeria Plc

Tools and Machinery Nigerian Ropes Plc

7.85

9.35 11.07 91.80 3.02 12.78 0.67

9.60 11.00 89.20 3.00 12.77 0.62

1,268,000 586,494 421,575 721,651 466,647 50,000

19.90 16.20 95.00 6.60 6.70 0.88

4.31 4.02 57.00 2.31 3.80 0.50

0.00 0.91 4.09 0.39 1.01 1.13

16.91 14.38 16.89 16.92 5.75 8.83

NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals BOC Gases Plc Metals Aluminium Extrusion Ind Plc

Food Products-- Diversified Cadbury Nigeria Plc Nestle Nigeria Plc

62.30 1,200.00

62.85 1,249.50

512,210 49,948

37.27 840.10

8.33 400.00

Household Durables Nigerian Enamelware Plc Vitafoam Nig. Plc Vono Products Plc

32.27 4.39 1.76

32.27 4.60 1.59

60 285,550 85,394

36.19 5.54 2.88

33.96 2.91 2.88

13.89 0.61 0.00

2.44 7.07 0.00

Personal/Household Products PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc Unilever Nigeria Plc

37.50 60.56

37.50 61.40

226,135 275,638

41.02 47.39

21.02 27.60

0.82 1.44

4.39 32.91

FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking Access Bank Plc Diamond Bank Nigeria Plc Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Fidelity Bank Plc First City Monument Bank Plc Guaranty Trust Bank Plc Skye Bank Plc Sterling Bank Plc UBA Plc Union Bank Nig. Plc Unity Bank Plc Wema Bank Plc Zenith Bank Plc

9.62 6.76 14.79 2.59 4.75 27.00 4.18 2.30 7.77 10.00 0.57 1.15 21.27

10.00 7.00 15.00 2.67 4.75 27.30 3.98 2.28 7.51 10.10 0.55 1.14 21.30

8,407,712 729,000 350,059 4,224,561 865,336 4,637,733 2,621,702 1,040,917 10,176,834 1,098,345 44,709,336 5,420,229 16,539,540

12.39 7.51 14.04 3.47 5.70 26.09 6.50 3.05 7.69 10.60 1.22 1.75 21.49

4.70 1.92 9.90 1.13 2.90 13.02 2.65 0.80 1.64 2.34 0.50 0.52 11.96

1.42 0.90 2.81 0.43 0.00 2.10 0.71 0.54 0.67 0.00 0.00 1.34 2.09

8.73 8.34 5.00 7.93 0.00 12.39 9.15 5.43 11.19 0.00 0.00 0.43 10.24

Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Sector African Alliance Insurance AIICO Insurance Plc Continental Reinsurance Plc Cornerstone Insurance Company Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc Equity Assurance Plc Goldlink Insurance Plc Great (Nig) Insurance Plc Guinea Insurance Plc International Energy Insurance Plc Investment and Allied Assurance LASACO Assurance Plc Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc Linkage Assurance Plc Mansard Insurance Plc Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc NEM Insurance Co. (Nig) Ltd Niger Insurance Co. Plc OASIS Insurance Plc. Prestige Assurance Co. Plc Regency Alliance Insurance Sovereign Trust Insurance Staco Insurance Plc Standard Alliance Insurance UNIC Insurance Plc Unity Kapital Plc Universal Insurance Plc Wapic Insurance Plc Microfinance Banks Fortis Micro-Finance Bank Plc NPF Micro-Finance Bank Plc Mortgage Carrier, Broker and Sector Abbey Building SOC Aso Savings and Loans Plc Resort Savings & Loans Plc Union Homes Savings Plc Other Financial Institutions Africa Prudential Plc Crusader (Nigeria) Plc Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc FBN Holdings Plc Nigeria Energy Sector Fund Royal Exchange Assurance

0.50 0.89 1.15 0.50 0.50 1.81 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.53 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 2.35 0.50 0.59 0.50 0.50 0.70 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.99

0.50 0.86 1.15 0.52 0.50 1.81 0.50 0.54 0.50 0.50 0.53 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 2.30 0.50 0.58 0.50 0.50 0.70 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.99

1,000 757,897 1,354,780 252,644 300,000 62,698 118,178 62,500 150 150 674,113 1,670,890 52,000 7,954 100,000 867,094 900 3,995,000 10,000 100 560,623 200 100,000 200 20,000 7,464 29,824 221,000 46,225,455

6.60 0.81

6.60 0.77

4,100 2,032,000

6.00 1.18

0.00 0.92

0.04 0.92

150.00 10.56

1.49 0.50 0.50 0.50

1.49 0.50 0.50 0.50

345 6,300 349,800 10,000

1.57 0.50 0.50 0.50

1.37 0.50 0.50 0.50

0.19 0.02 0.00 0.00

47.6 7 25.00 0.00 0.00

2.45 0.50 0.99 16.28 552.20 0.50

2.06 0.50 1.09 16.11 552.20 0.50

209,558 22,000 140,000 6,697,183 1,470,102

2.59

0.50 1.11 1.03 0.54 0.50 2.44 0.50 0.68 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.60 0.50 0.54 0.81 0.61 0.50 1.01 0.50 0.56 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.08

0.75 0.50 2.02 20.00 100 0.78

1.06

0.50 0.50 0.58 0.50 0.50 1.08 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

0.00 0.50 2.02 8.57 552.20 0.50

0.16

0.00 0.50 0.14 0.02 0.50 0.28 0.01 0.00 0.03 0.01 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.00 0.37 0.02 0.03 0.06 0.04 0.09 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.07

0.19 0.00 0.00 2.03 12.68 0.13

16.19

0.00 22.20 6.79 27.30 10.00 7.43 50.00 0.00 16.67 50.00 0.00 25.00 0.00 0.00 16.67 0.00 2.19 26.00 16.67 15.50 12.50 5.65 0.00 0.00 0.00 25.00 0.00 15.43

9.16 0.00 0.00 9.85 43.55 6.00

9.05 14.13 0.00 0.00

16.83 2.07

20

27.61 32.84

88.50 0.00 3.07

0.50

4 2,720,390.38

1.35 25.43

P.E Ratio

420,890 1,119,792

20,000 803,770

Beverages-Brewers/Distillers Champion Breweries Plc Guinness Nigeria Plc International Breweries Plc Nigerian Brew Plc Premier Breweries Plc

E.P.S 10.56 0.87 0.21

5.05 0.93

Real Estate Investment Trusts Skye Shelter Funds Union Homes Real Estate Investment CONSUMER GOODS Automobile/Auto Parts DN Tyres & Rubber Plc

Year Low 103.50 10.64 0.03

5.05 1.24

Real Estate Development UACN Property Development

Year High

16.83 2.07

IT Services NCR (Nig) Plc Tripple Gee and Company Plc Processing Systems Chams Plc 10.11 2.26

Quantity Traded

103.50 15.69 1.41

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Construction/Structure ARBICO Plc Constain (WA) Plc

4.11 4.73

Closing Price N

103.50 19.40 1.50

as at Friday, December 6 , 2013

ICT Telecommunications Starcomms Plc INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials Ashaka Cement Plc Berger Paints Plc CAP Plc Cement Co. of Northern Nig. Plc Dangote Cement Plc First Aluminium Nigeria Plc DN Meyer Plc Lafarge WAPCO Plc Portland Paints & Products Nig Plc Paints & Coatings Manufacturers Premier Paints Plc Packaging/Containers Avon Crowncaps & Container Nigerian Bags Manufacturing Company

Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Se Abbey Building Society Plc INDUSTRIAL GOODS Packaging/Containers Abplast Products Plc Beta Glass Co. Plc Greif Nigeria Plc Nampak Nigeria Plc Poly Products (Nig) Plc Studio Press (Nig) Plc W.A. Glass Ind. Plc

1.71 2.74

5.94 1.47 8.26

0.5 0.25 0.00

0.78

39.60 9.16 0.00

7.37

OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services Japaul Oil & Maritime Service

0.50

0.50

1,277,086

0.97

0.87

0.19

6.06

Intergrated Oil and Gas Services Oando Plc

15.80

14.06

12,878,194

78.97

27.99

1.73

4.17

20.50 0.50 67.93 108.30 120.00 54.44 165.01

20.50 0.50 67.93 114.00 114.53 54.44 165.01

82,191 10,000 15,000 2,438,628 25,670 184,538 44,188

37.10 0.70 5.59

0.50 0.50 3.89

4.93 0.00 0.61

7.40 0.00 6.99

163.50 2,100 240.00

141.00 63.86 195.50

6.11 2.98 14.63

11.11 19.23 17.07

0.51

0.00

Petroleum and Petroleum Products African Petroleum Plc Beco Petroleum Plc Conoil Forte Oil Nig Plc Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc MRS Oil Nigeria Plc Total Nigeria Plc Hospitality Tantalisers Plc

0.50

0.50

10,000

200

SERVICES Afromedia Plc Automobile/Auto Part Retailers RT Briscoe Plc

0.50

0.50

100

0.72

1.47

1.20

673,472

3.65

1.30

0.21

8.19

4.41

4.20 1.20

15,000 1.22

3.67 100,000

2.65 0.25

0.60 11.12

4.91

0.51

4,847,760

1.64

4.55 0.72

1,000 447,121

400 2.07

Courier/Freight/Delivery Red Star Express Plc Trans-National Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC Hotels/Lodging Capital Hotel Ikeja Hotel Plc

0.52 4.55 0.72

0.01

0.90 3.00 1.33

0.04 0.34 0.92

12.75

11.25 34.09 2.12

Media/Entertainment Daar Communications Plc

0.50

0.50

3,000

0.50

0.48

0.00

0.00

Printing & Publishing.

Academy Press Plc Learn Africa Plc Studio Press Nig. Plc University Press

2.55 2.10 2.52 3.82

2.07 2.03 2.52 3.70

21,524 448,878 100 44,087

3.68

0.25

12.19

0.00 6.82

3.17 0.30 0.00 3.60

0.54

27.69

Road Transportation Associated Bus Company Plc

0.77

0.80

599,772

0.80

0.50

0.00

0.00

Speciality Interlinked Technologies Plc

4.90

4.90

1,050

5.15

4.90

0.00

0.00

Transport-Related Services Airline Services and Logistics Plc Nigerian Aviation Handling Company

3.61 6.10

3.60 5.85

43,600 456,927

2.78 11.75

1.57 6.50

0.60 12.53

4.22 8.75

38 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013

Capital Market

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013 — 39

Advertising, Media & Marketing

Trends in smart control technology & consumer lifestyle …LG, others contribute Stories by PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

G

lobally, consumers are increasingly demanding for means by which household tasks can be accomplished with little or no stress. They would want to sit in the comfort of their living rooms after a day’s job and control virtually all the electrical appliances in the room. Nigerians are not in exception; they demand technological devices that have human interface and can help them execute tasks; all these they want achieved with latest technology reducing costs and risks.

This informs why corporate organisations are investing heavily in technological research in order to meet the needs of its consumers. One of such companies is global Consumer Electronics giant, LG Electronics, Samsung, Sony and Panasonic with plethora of innovative and forwardthinking products, are reputable for churning out products with interactive technology or simply put that has smart control capabilities.

For example LG and other companies in this regard are continually converging, bringing content and technology together to transform the way consumers live, work and play.

With the advent of greater internet connectivity, improvements in wireless technologies and more responsive devices with builtin sensor capabilities, the potential to have technology do

more for humankind has never been greater.

Leading this innovative technology is LG Electronics which has been able to harness technology and the smart control mechanisms for the benefit of consumers. This has allowed consumers to be able to personalize and engage their devices hence, championing the revolution of smart control technology. In a recent research

From left: Managing Director, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Mr. Thabo Mabe; Deputy Director, Nutrition, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Mrs. Abimbola Ajayi and Brand Building Director, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Mr. David Okeme during the relaunch of Unilever Knorr Chicken and Beef Cubes in Lagos.

Unilever records 10bn cube sales in one year

U

nilever Nigeria Plc has disclosed that over 10billion Knorr cubes seasoning were sold in the 2012 sales year, a development, it argued, demonstrated the

Media entrepreneurs task APCON on integrity of members

By FRANKLIN ALLI

M

edia entrepreneurs in the country have called on the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) to ensure the integrity and ethical conduct of its members.

The media entrepreneurs made the call recently at the yearly Award and Dinner organised by the School of Media and Communication Alumni Association (SMCAA) of Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos. They included the Managing Director of 92.3 Inspiration Fm radio Station, Mr. Soni Irabor, the Managing Partner L5Lab-a venture capitalist firm with a bias for media entrepreneurship- Mr.

by networking leader Cisco, it suggested that the number of internet connected devices is set to explode come 2015 to over 15 billion; this is twice the world’s population. The research predicts the proliferation of tablets, mobile phones, connected appliances and other smart machines will drive this growth and provides a statistical basis for explaining the very real evidence we see in our everyday lives in the changing way devices are used, and in turn what users expect them to do.

Chika Nwobi, and the Dean, School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Professor Emevwo Biakolo. Irabor lamented the huge and prolonged debt profile of many advertising agencies in the country, and stressed that the singular development called for ethical revolution in media practice in Nigeria. He regretted that APCON seemed incapable of tackling the challenge, adding that there is indeed no regard for the rule of law in Nigeria. “Opportunities abound for Media enterprise in Nigeria, but the challenges are too many. A major challenge is posed by many advertising agencies who now seems to be the smartest people on earth.

growing consumers’ confidence in the seasoning brand.

Disclosing this in Lagos at the relaunch event of its cube seasoning, the Brand Building Director, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Mr. David Okeme, explained that the Knorr seasoning is becoming increasingly popular among consumers, as evidenced in its sale of 10 million units per day and a total of 10 billion in the last one year.

He added that the decision to reformulate the brand was informed by the need to deliver quality taste for its consumers.

Aside its reformulation, Okeme added that the packaging of the seasoning had been enhanced to further bond the brand with the consumers and enhance their cooking experiences.

He explained that though Knorr seasoning brand had been re-formulated to deliver better quality for consumers, it still retains the old price as a way of demonstrating the brand’s commitment to constantly give its consumers value for their hard-earned money at no extra costs. The Category Manager, Savoury, Mrs. Bolanle Kehinde-Lawal, described the re-launch of the brand as imperative, especially at this festive period when consumers and lovers of the brand would have the opportunity of trying out the new improved Knorr cube.

Unhappy employees make unhappy customers

C

herry (not her real name) works for a foremost Nigerian stock broking firm as a contract marketing staff. She is usually a charming person, but she easily gives away her dissatisfaction with the terms of her employment. She doesn’t hide the fact that she is ready to change jobs and will not hesitate to press her customers into her job search.

Although most of her customers might view her as a nice person, Cherry shocked one of them recently by the way she spoke to him on the phone. The customer had initiated the call to give her an instruction to buy some shares. Let’s listen in on the conversation.

Customer: Hello, Cherry. It’s been a long time. You don’t even bother to call your customers. What’s really happening?

Cherry: Oga, it’s actually not my job to call you. It is for the relationship guys to call you. Once I get customers, I hand over to them. And I know they have been sending you emails.

Customer: (shocked) But you are the person I know.

I have never met any of the so-called relationship officers. Anyway, what about the annual report and accounts I requested that you send me more than two months ago? You never got back to me.

Cherry: Oh. Sorry about that. I told my boss about your request. He should have got back to you. Actually, I’m at a client’s place at the moment. Call me back later. Customer: Hmmmmmm. Why don’t you call me when you’re through with your client?

Cherry: Oga, I cannot use the little money I have to call you. I mean, I need to pay for my transport fares and other things. I cannot be calling customers with the little money I get.

True to her stand, Cherry never called the customer.

The fact that she was dealing with a longstanding customer didn’t make any difference. As incredible as this encounter sounds, I want to assure you that it actually happened! The customer had done business with Cherry for over one year and had helped her sign on some of his friends as customers. He was so bewildered that he made up his mind never to deal with Cherry and her organisation again.

Whatever may have been the cause of Cherry’s uncaring attitude to a customer, a few points stick out.

Cherry isn’t happy with her organisation. She has no sense of loyalty to both the organisation and her customers. She doesn’t understand her role as a marketing officer. She clearly believes her job is done as soon as an individual agrees to become a customer.

She underestimates the power of excellent customer relations.

Although a number of committed sales people would spend their personal money to keep customers happy, some other ones (like Cherry) would not spend a dime of theirs in the service of a customer. People like Cherry have an attitude problem. They are so unhappy with their work that they never bother to give their customers a call – even when the call might result in a sale on which they would earn a commission. To be fair, part of the blame ought to go to her organisation. The company may have very rigid policies that tend to emasculate people on the frontline. It may have goofed in putting its reputation in the hands of people like Cherry.

We have noted in a previous write-up that it is somewhat risky to put “contract” employees on the frontline for the simple reason that they don’t see themselves as part of the organisation. Ironically, such employees are usually poorly paid and poorly trained since the organisation hardly sees them as their employees. But they still represent the organisation and it must bear the consequences of such representation.

There is no telling the number of customers that have been lost owing to the uncaring attitude of some disgruntled employee. You need to watch out for employees that keep complaining about their condition of service. You can be sure they won’t deliver excellent service. And they most likely will complain to your customers. In the final analysis, unless you make your employees happy, they are not likely to make your customers happy.

40 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013

Email:lesleba@lesleba.com, lesleba@gmail.com Blog page:www.lesleba.com/blog2 Website: www.lesleba.com Tel:0805 220 1997

released 50k, N1 and N2 denominations as coins into our currency profile because the extant note forms had become cumbersome and almost worthless and were generally rejected by even “lowly” street beggars!

Ultimately, the coins were auctioned at a small fraction of cost.

Regrettably, despite the undeniable utility value of primary kobo coins in any economy, the CBN, seems incapable of integrating metal coins into our currency profile. However, it is evident that it would be meaningless and wasteful to reintroduce kobo coins, if these coins commanded the same abysmally low purchasing value.

Redenomination or a twopoint decimalisation, for example, would however, quickly lead to the acceptance of our erstwhile discarded primary kobo coins, as a 50Kobo coin in such a redenominated profile would be equivalent to over 30 US cents, while a N1 coin would be over 60 US cents or the equivalent of N90 within the present currency profile.

Ghana, for example, successfully reintroduced primary pesewa coins into its currency profile after a four point decimalisation in 2007.

(See our article “Redenomination of Ghana Currency”, January 2007, http://www.lesleba.com/ 150107.doc). Former CBN Governor, Charles Soludo, belatedly recognised the wisdom of currency redenomination, in his aborted 2007 Strategic Agenda for the Naira, but unfortunately Soludo could not stoutly defend this solution before Late President Musa Yar’Adua, because the same CBN had spent billions of naira to design, print and promote a new currency profile less than 12 months earlier.

PAPER TO POLYMER TO PAPER CURRENCY:

They still don’t get it paper; however, we know nothing about its costeffectiveness, vis-à-vis the paper notes, or indeed, coins, which, despite any rough handling or harsh climate can last for over 50 years.

Nonetheless, in September 2008, we observed in an article titled “The Putrid Mess Also in CBN (3)”, that the Nigerian public was not deceived, as they quickly recognized that polymer notes fade and peel easily, especially when they are wet or folded. Polymer note shrivels, when in contact with hot objects, and they are less amenable to the Nigerian culture of folding notes.

Recently in November 2013, however, CBN ironically indicated that the polymer notes it earlier glorified would now be replaced by the paper quality discarded in 2009!

According to CBN’s spokesman, Mr. Ugochukwu Okoroafor “Polymer has been on test-run since 2007; this explains why we did not go the whole hog by printing all the notes in polymer…. We soon discovered that the polymer notes easily fade out because of our peculiar hot climate in Nigeria, making them look tattered when in use over time.”

So, who is responsible for the alleged successful earlier evaluation of the durability of polymer notes before committing Nigeria to the purchase of over 1.9bn units of these notes between 2006 and 2008? Consequently, how much was wasted on production and publicity campaign for this failed

project? I guess, we will never know.

Nonetheless, the Bank of England recently indicated that it would soon introduce polymer banknotes of £5 and £10 denominations …, with potential annual savings of £10m to the British economy.

So, in view of the failed experiment in Nigeria, why would the undoubtedly more

,

T

he slap on the wrist sanction of public servants, who inadvertently or indeed, knowingly misapply public resources, have expectedly engendered increasingly similar anti-social transactions and commitments by the management of several ministries, departments and agencies nationwide. Indeed, the parlous state of our economy is probably the product of the challenge of moral hazard in the determination and operation of our fiscal and monetary strategies.

Let us briefly discuss the recent history of avoidable and costly somersaults in government policies with regard to our nation’s currency profile and material of construction. Prior to 2006, currency denominations of N5, N10, N50, N100, N200, N500 and N1000 were fabricated with paper, while the N20 denomination was converted to polymer note a year earlier. Apparently, as a result of the alleged successful test-run of the N20 polymer notes, three other denominations, viz; the N5, N10, and N50, which, were earlier released as new paper designs in 2006, were once again reissued, but this time, with much more expensive polymer material in October 2009, to complement the existing N20 polymer notes.

The superiority of polymer notes was, however, identified in CBN’s extensive publicity campaigns as being “user-friendly, they look better and remain crisp over a long period, and they do not stain, rumple or tear easily....” and will also “save the nation huge sums of money used for reprinting the traditional paper notes.

The polymer notes may indeed be more durable than

Polymer has been on test-run since 2007; this explains why we did not go the whole hog by printing all the notes in polymer…. We soon discovered that the polymer notes easily fade out because of our peculiar hot climate in Nigeria, making them look tattered when in use over time.”

,

socially responsible and better-managed Bank of England still adopt polymer notes?

The answer to this question may be found in the

purchasing power of N5, N10, N20 and N50 polymer denominations in our currency profile; while for example, the relatively “lowly” £5 sterling denomination commands more purchasing value than our N1000 note, our highest polymer note of N50 is equal to 20 UK pence, which is fabricated as coins. In other words, our N50 note is actually doing the job bestsuited for metal coins, which can last over 50 years, and remain hardwearing despite climate, high velocity of circulation or rough handling. This means that, there may be nothing actually wrong with polymer notes, but what is most likely inappropriate is the denomination for which they are applied.

Undoubtedly, CBN’s proposed 2014 reinstatement of N5, N10, N20, and N50 paper notes, may be acceptable for a short while, but would certainly, ultimately be rejected because of the attendant relatively lowly values, the dirt and grime after prolonged use, and the potential health hazard of heavy bacteria colonies on the paper notes.

In this event, in consonance with earlier practices, the CBN may have once again wasted not only the billions spent on production, but also tens of billions more, which would be budgeted to promote acceptance for the ‘new’ paper notes, which regrettably will ultimately also be destined to suffer popular rejection.

Incidentally, in 2006, the CBN had also unsuccessfully

Business & Economy

Lagos tops IGR report

D

ata released by the National Bureau of Statistics has shown that Lagos state internally generated revenue for the period of 2010-2012 was higher than any other state in the country. In the report which was signed by Statistician General, Yemi Kale in collaboration with the Joint Tax Board, Lagos State generated N185.541 billion in 2010, N202.761 billion in 2011 and N219.202 billion in 2012 making it the state with the highest internally generated revenue(IGR).

“First of all, we see patterns.

Lagos stands out from the rest

of the country, totally in a class of its own. Two, the south is totally different from the north and generally the economies in the north evidently lag behind,” Opeyemi Agbaje, CEO of RTC Advisory Services told CNBC Africa.

According to Agbaje, the data showed the impact of the major population and commercial centres especially in Southern Nigeria.

“So we see that the top seven or eight states are Lagos, Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Oyo, Enugu, and Cross River.

Relatively, the South West stands out even from the rest

of the South region. All of these give you a sense around the state of economic development in the regions,” he added.

Rivers State came in behind Lagos state with N173.047 billion and a breakdown showed that the state generated N49.585 billion in 2010, 57.187 billion naira in 2011 and N66.275 billion in 2012.

Data on internally generated revenues of state governments recently released by Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics reveal major disparity in revenues.

Delta ranked third with the most IGR, the data revealed that 26.087 billion naira was

education, entrepreneurial activities, the development of businesses, the development of commerce and industries across those regions.”

collected in 2010, N34.750 billion in 2011 and N45.566 billion in 2012.

“It also reflects the social statistics in terms of

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CONTRIBUTORS Princewill Ekwujuru Naomi Uzor Providence Obuh LAYOUT

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