NACCIMA blames infrastructural constraint for business
failure
Sodiq Oyeleke
The Nigerian Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry,
Mines and Agriculture has said that
inadequate infrasture and inconsistent laws are the major causes for the
failures of many businesses in the country.
The national president
of the group, Dr. Ademola Ajayi in a press conference in Lagos, said the
national macro-economic performance since the beginning of 2012 confirmed that
our challenges as at the end of December 2011 have not translated to any
significant impact on the real sector of the economy and the citizenry.
He said, “Due largely to the delayed signing of the 2012
Federal Budget and the tempo of insecurity in the country. The business community has continued to
grapple with the usual issues of unfriendly operating environment, policy
inconsistencies and infrastructural constraints, particularly the perennial
power and energy crisis with no end in sight.
“Indeed to build the desired business confidence, we as a
Nation need to constantly weigh the strengths and weaknesses in our unique
economic environment, so as to minimize the heartache these macro-economic
fundamentals pose for business/stakeholders planning in our great country.”
He advised that for the provisions and programmes contained
in the Transformation Agenda of the Nigerian Government to be realisable as
planned, the relationship between the Chambers of Commerce and Government must
be strengthened and made more cordial.
“Modern Chambers of Commerce especially in some part of
Africa need more fire in the belly in
their relationships with Government. We
have observed that the cost of partnering has tempered Chambers of Commerce
impact in taking a more proactive position with Governments.
“ To ensure the growth of businesses and the economy,
Chambers of Commerce need to partner with the various tiers of Government in a
number of initiatives, such as urban regeneration, apprenticeships, advice to
small firms and export promotion,” he added.
He wondered why the government has failed to ensure the
budget impacts positively on the business community, the citizenry and the
economy, noting that the incessant ritual of unbalance of recurrent against
capital expenditures and give priority attention to the allocations earmarked to support
infrastructural, social serves, create wealth and job for the masses.
He said, “It is worrisome that the level of recurrent
expenditure of 71.5% (though lower than the 74.4% in 2011) is still as high as
ever for an economy hurrying up to develop needed infrastructure and
accelerated development to sustain Government’s economic growth and
transformation. This is so because it is
only with significant improvement in capital expenditure to critical sectors
such as the real sector and reduction in deficit level that can take us to the
promised land, in line with the Transformation Agenda. The level of recurrent against capital
expenditure in the budgets of State Governments did not show any significant
departure from that of the Federal.
“We are further worried that the current burden of taxes and
levies has not been laid to rest as it continues to pose high operating costs
and distractions for businesses, most especially those operating in the real
sector of the economy. We cannot continue to ignore the serious negative impact
of multiplicity of taxes and levies and the imperative of ensuring that this
burden is mitigated on the activities of the business community.”
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
0 comments:
Post a Comment