From Jude Owuamanam, Jos
Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to creating a business-friendly environment for foreign and indigenous investors.
He also vowed to make the state one of the most business-friendly states in Nigeria.
Speaking at a roundtable and strategic business meeting of the State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) on the ease of doing business at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Little Rayfield, Jos, the governor said his administration had put everything in place to attract good business to the state.
The technical session of SABER was held in conjunction with the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), which was established in July 2016 to drive Nigeria’s business environment reform.
Mutfwang, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Samuel Jatau, emphasised that the ease of doing business had become a top priority for the state government.
He noted that the state has made significant progress in implementing actionable reforms, which has helped to attract investors and promote economic growth.
“We’re creating a better business environment for businesses to thrive on the Plateau that will boost our economy as a people, invariably to affect life in our state because when there’s employment, when there’s businesses, there will be less crime because less people will be idle. So, I think that’s the value chain of that industry.
“The sustainability of this programme and judicious use of these funds is the worry of some people, but I can tell you that it’s not about funds, it’s a process, it’s a system. You can hear what the commissioner for lands and survey has said about digitising the process and reducing the steps, making it easier for people to get the C of O. The ministry of agriculture is also collaborating, making it easy for people to get farmlands. He was talking with investors today from Germany and they were asking how easy it would be for them to get some plots of land to cultivate vegetables.
“Those are the issues and it is sustainable because the government is involved. I am the chairman of the business council. I am the chairman of the MSME council. I am the chairman of the GIZ steering committee. So, you can see the tie, so the government is making a deliberate effort to see that these things are tied together and we’ll be making progress
“The funds are just a small part of it. Last year, we made some small money from it. We’re expecting to make more because we’re doing more.
When we came on board as a government, we were ranked 14th in the ease of doing business in Nigeria. Last year, we improved to number 10 on that list.”
Director-General of Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, Princess Zahrah Mustapha Audu, explained that PEBEC’s mission was to improve the ease of doing business in Nigeria by implementing reforms that promote a more conducive business environment.
Audu explained that the nationwide subnational tour across the 36 states and FCT was aimed at strengthening state-level ownership of reform initiatives and deepening the implementation of SABER.
“What we are trying to do is bring the Plateau State Government closer to the business community for the business community to be able to interact, ask questions and then hopefully together we can formulate policies that are local and peculiar to people within Plateau State.”
Audu added that part of the PEBEC’s mandate is to translate national policies to the subnational level, ensuring that reforms were tailored to meet the specific needs of each state.
Programme Manager, World Bank and Lead, SABER Project, Bertine Kamphuis expressed excitement that PEBEC had prioritised the role of the private sector in its programmes.