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Minister of Foreign Affairs and Head, Economic Team, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has described the expansion of the country's middle class.....
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Head, Economic Team, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has described the expansion of the country's middle class as a priority of the Obasanjo government.
To achieve this, she said, there was a focus on ensuring that credit facilities were available "to support the growth of this class which, in every developed country, plays a key role in the establishment and sustenance of property."
A statement by the minister's aide, Mr. Paul Nwabuiku, disclosed that Okonjo-Iweala made the remark while delivering the 2006 Annual Scotia Bank Corporate Lecture in Kingston, Jamaica. The lecture was titled, Reforming Emerging Economies: Some challenges from Nigeria and Jamaica.
Expatiating on the middle-class focus, the minister said government is supporting the establishment of a consumer credit bureau, and also the launch of a national home mortgage system, adding that we hope that in future, a middle class will emerge which has access to mortgage and access to credit for both consumption and investment purposes.
The aim of the lecture was to share experiences of macro-economic management with political and private sector leaders in Jamaica.
The audience at this distinguished lecture was comprised of Jamaican cabinet ministers, business executives, senior politicians, and civil society leaders.
The Caribbean country today faces a number of economic challenges such as managing a growing public debt (about 135% of GDP), maintaining fiscal sustainability, and tackling violent crime which raises the cost of doing business for the private sector. Economic diversification is also needed in Jamaica to create more jobs, and reduce the country's dependence on tourism and bauxite sectors
In the speech which was wide ranging assessment of progress made so far in implementing the on-going economic reform programme, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala described the economic situation in Nigeria by the end of the 1990s as bleak, characterized by poor growth, declining levels of productivity, rising poverty levels, widespread corruption and large external debt overhang. The minister also described the pre-reform macro-economic environment as worrying with inflation level ranging between 20 and 28 percent, an unstable
exchange rate, low reserves and weak fiscal policy, with the government incurring a fiscal deficit of about 3.5 of GDP for the decade prior to reforms.
As a response to these challenges, said the minister, the Federal Government under the vision and leadership of President Olusegun Obasanjo decided to confront them by attacking their fundamental courses by implementing comprehensive reforms based on the
National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS).
While asserting that Nigeria did not have all the answers, Dr. Okonjo noted that Jamaica could learn quite a few lessons from Nigeria's recent experience given the many positive achievements. Macro-economic stability has improved as can be seen from higher growth averaging 7.6% per annun in the last three years, driven by, an 8 percent growth rate in the non-oil sector. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala also cited the debt deal with the Paris Club which led to a write-off of $18bn from the country's debt and enable Nigeria's complete exit from the Paris Club. The overall improvement on the economy has been re-affirmed by two leading international credit agencies, Fitch and Standard & Poors which both have given the country a BB-rating, putting Nigeria on a par with other emerging economies such as Brazil, Turkey, Vietnam and Venezuela.
The minister paid tribute to the President for his leadership and vision and praised the Economic Team in leading various components of the Obasanjo reforms.