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By Merit Ibe, [email protected]
Manufacturers and business owners in the country are hoping for a friendlier operating environment in 2024, since the past year was quite toxic, leading to the death of many establishments, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
They are optimistic that in the new year, the federal government will take urgent action to bring the economy from the brink.
Policies like the fuel subsidy removal, floating the local currency and lifting foreign exchange restrictions hit businesses hard, with many still struggling to survive due to increased operating costs, forex scarcity, reduced demand and disrupted supply chains, among other blistering challenges.
Real sector operators have cried out over the scathing economic climate as they now face acute shortage of raw materials, slump in production volume and increased operating costs.
With the assurance of the president on his new year speech to address these critical issues that impact the economy, expectations are high that things would work out better in 2024.
Manufacturers, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) operators and other private-sector players are expectant and have called on the government to create the right environment for businesses to thrive in the new year.
The Director General of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadir, called on the government to focus on addressing the revival of closed and distressed industries, particularly in the North East where over 60 per cent of companies have closed.
“All ministries, departments and agencies of government must unfailingly comply with Executive Order 003 on the patronage of made-in-Nigeria products.
“In this regard, there should be strict application of the margin of preference, effective monitoring and periodic evaluation of compliance, and appropriate sanctions meted out to MDAs acting in breach of the executive order,” he said.
He also noted that Nigeria has strong policies for industrialisation but lacked concrete action and sustainable growth.
Hence, to revive the manufacturing sector, the government must prioritise resource-based industrialisation and address systemic infrastructure issues.
Former chairperson, MAN, Frank Onyebu, who reeled out expectations of the sector, prayed that the manufacturing sector would be given the required priority by the government.
He lamented that much of the expectations prior to the general elections that things were going to start getting better, have since dissipated.
He noted that the gains expected from the removal of fuel subsidy and the liberalization of the foreign exchange market did not materialize, noting that these policies created much suffering without the expected benefits mainly because the government has not invested the dividends of these policies in a positive way.
“Much of these benefits have gone into wasteful expenditures and corruption.
“The operating environment has been tough and in dire need of urgent government intervention.”
He lamented that several manufacturing firms have shut down due to the harsh operating environment.
He expects that the year 2024 will be better than 2023.
“Having hit the rock bottom, the government really has no choice but to take urgent action to salvage this very dire situation.
“I expect the government to enact and vigorously implement policies that would encourage investment in the productive sector. I expect the government to create the right environment as well as incentives for the agricultural and manufacturing sectors knowing that the best way to shore up the economy is investing in these two sectors.
“I expect the government to cut down on waste and corruption and to use the savings to fund infrastructure projects. I want to reiterate that the already saturated unemployment situation will be compounded without urgent intervention from the government.”
President, Calabar Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, David Etim, hopes that 2024 will bring better structure.
He believes the president means well for the country, but the issue has always been implementation of policies.
“I hope that this government will implement the ideas and policies properly because between concepts, plan and implementation there are lot of things that go wrong. So, we hope they would be able to implement these policies properly this Year. He lamented the multiple taxation bedeviling the private sector, calling on government to tackle the issue with urgency.
On infrastructure, he called for a steady power for manufacturers and businesses since over 60 percent of the total overhead cost goes to energy.
Etim pointed out the need for an intensive and deliberate approach to large scale mechanised industrial farming for increased production to meet the growing population and address food inflation.
“Massive production is needed which cannot be achieved through manual production but through industrial farming.
“If this is achieved, it will address the issue of forex scarcity. If we are producing more locally, there won’t be a forex issue. It’s a secondary problem.
Daniel Dickson-Okezie, an SMEs expert and member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) expects the government in the new year to improve the power sector, remove the bottlenecks that have clogged the wheel of businesses from performing in the outgoing year like huge import levy, multiple taxes, low access to loans for small businesses, among others.
He pleaded with the government to solve the issue of foreign exchange scarcity which has been a challenge .
“Government must come up with a deliberate policy to let businesses thrive particularly small businesses and manufacturers.
Lets believe that in the new year, govt will take positive steps that will solve these problems.”
Savior Iche, the national president of the Association of Micro-Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN) said the policies hit SMEs hard, with many struggling to survive.
He said the situation was particularly challenging for small manufacturers who faced acute shortage of raw materials, a slowdown in production, and increased operating costs.
He noted that the present harsh economy has made many local manufacturers close their factories and lay off workers.
These economic policies are adversely affecting SMEs in the country.
Iche called on the government in 2024 to carry the stakeholders along in the formulation and implementation of economic policies.
On its part, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), stated that, “our overall theme for the economy in 2024 is predicated on a consolidation of the reforms implemented by the new administration as we anticipate, albeit cautiously, follow-through policies that should enhance the already executed reforms.”
The director-general of LCCI, Dr. Chinyere Almona said, the federal government needs to sustain its targeted interventions in selected critical sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, export infrastructure and tackling insecurity.
“it is very imperative that we need sound monitoring and evaluation over the budget allocations to capital projects and defence spending to respectively tackle infrastructural deficit and the fight against insurgency.
“We urge the government to tackle oil theft to earn more foreign exchange and borrow from cheaper sources to reduce the burden of debt servicing. The government must block revenue leakages, reduce costs and empower the private sector to create jobs and generate more revenue to the government.”
