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Twenty-four hours after President Olusegun Obasanjo presented the 2007 budget projection to the joint session of the National Assembly, captains of industry have advised that all the provisions/proposals in the budget should be faithfully implemented to ensure the desired impact on the economy and in the lives of all Nigerians.
Twenty-four hours after President Olusegun Obasanjo presented the 2007 budget projection to the joint session of the National Assembly, captains of industry have advised that all the provisions/proposals in the budget should be faithfully implemented to ensure the desired impact on the economy and in the lives of all Nigerians.
The 2007 budget provides, among other things, N11billion for the dredging of the River Niger from Lokoja to Warri; N36billion for the construction of East-West Road; N21billion for the construction of the Kano-Maiduguri Dualisation; and N17billion for the completion of the Gurara Water Project. On electricity, the President said significant progress had been made in the rehabilitation and expansion of generation capacity, transmission and distribution of existing power stations. He said that work was in progress on the seven new medium-size power plants in the Niger Delta Region, while the procurement process for the development of the 2,600MW Mambilla Hydro Power Station is almost completed and all contracts for the procurement process are expected to be finalised soon.
Speaking on the budget, Managing Director/Chief Executive of multinational drug firm, May and Maker Plc, Mr. Joseph Odumodu, acknowledged the government's bold quest to address the state of decay in the nation's infrastructure, which he described as not only embarrassing but also stunting the development and growth of the manufacturing sector.
Although Odumodu described the provisions in the budget as lofty, he however expressed worry on their continuation by the succeeding government in 2007.
Said he: 'There are huge challenges on infrastructure, which have to be addressed, and which the budget has clearly shown it will address. From what I read of the President's presentation, I saw clearly that there is a lot of emphasis on infrastructure and that falls in line with what the manufacturing sector has been clamouring for. That we need to create the right environment - the right infrastructure - so that we can manufacture for domestic use and also compete internationally," he said.
'You could also see so much emphasis on education in the budget this year. Our educational system is in shambles and thank God the current education minister is a responsible person and has been able to discover that the problem with the system is not just about the students and teachers, some of whom who are not of the right calibre, but with the infrastructure in the schools. Clearly, we are moving in the right direction.
'One thing that bothers everyone is that government is beginning to do the right thing towards the end of this regime. And one hopes that the new government that will come in 2007 will be able to go along the same path and do things in the right way," Odumodu said.
President, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFE), Chief Boniface Aniebonam, called on the Federal Government to focus more attention on the informal sector by empowering them to grow rather than focusing attention on the macro sector, which are fewer, next year.
On the appropriation of the lion's share of the budget to security, he lauded the development, adding that security was supposed to be the first priority of any government because, according to him, if you are not secured, it will be difficult for someone to think, move and progress.
Aniebonam, however, noted that the effort hitherto put on security was not enough, urging the government to do more next year. He also asked government to focus attention on how to alleviate poverty and ensure that food, shelter and health are made easily available to the masses.
Director General, Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Mr. Emeka Okereke, said the budget, as proposed by the President, was a good one, but asked that it should be effectively implemented.
'The budget is well articulated. I commend the President on a well-articulated budget. But the problem is always implementation. We want to see it in action," he said.
On the appropriation for the South-Eastern roads, Mr. Okereke said the President's proposal took care of some of the roads, but complained that most of them have been abandoned. He mentioned Onitsha-Owerri Road and the Enugu International Trade Fair complex as two projects that have been left unattended. 'We are looking forward to their completion in 2007. We want government to hand the projects over to competent contractors to handle," he said.
The DG also called on the Federal Government's economic managers to keep a tab on inflation so that it does not go haywire.
Alex Nwachi, general secretary, Nigeria Institute of Quantity Surveyors, however, said he was not comfortable with the budget. 'Why should they peg the budget at $ 40 per barrel, while oil in the international market is about $ 69 per barrel? What do they want to do with the difference? Our situation has been the higher the price of oil, the more the suffering in the land. It is on record that since independence, Nigeria has not made the money it has made between 1999 and now, but look at the state of infrastructure in the country, everything is deplorable".
But a stockbroker, Mr. Angus Uzoamaka, said the budget would augur well for the country. 'This is because it will address the key issues in the country and it will also help the on-going economic reform. The problem with the country has not been policy formulation but implementation, but I believe that with institutions, like EFCC and Due Process, the budget will be one of the best the country has ever had," he said.
In the aviation sector, stakeholders described the budget as 'orally bogus," expressing hopes that the contents will be implemented to the letter.
The Public Relations Manager/Coordinator of Chanchangi Airlines, Alhaji Mohammed Tukur, said the budget is good, describing it as a relief to the Nigerian economy. He commended the government for its reforms, urging various leaders to manage the money earmarked for them judiciously. He also expressed hopes that particular attention is paid to the aviation sector for it to meet global standards.
'I hope this budget will be implemented fully. The amount Mr. President proposed is quite big and it'll really take care of all sectors of the economy if well disbursed," he said.
Speaking in the same vein, an airline chief executive said the time to rejoice over the proposed budget was yet to come, stressing that many budgets had been proposed but never implemented. He said it was counter-productive for the government to quote big money only to disburse a fraction of it.
Reacting to the proposal, Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sir Remi Omotoso, who stated that the chamber will soon make its position on the budget known, however, commended the government for underscoring the relevance of manpower training in the 2007 budget, arguing that that component was necessary for the nation to succeed in its civil service reforms.
He said that without adequate manpower training, civil servants would continue to perform poorly on all fronts, adding that a well trained and enlightened workforce makes governance easy, transparent, accountable and proactive.
The LCCI boss stated that proper training provides the capacity to create a level of understanding between the public and private sectors, which is necessary to attain the goals of the on-going government reforms.
To achieve greater result from its training programme the LCCI director general advised government to engage in exchange programmes involving public and private sector operators as it will afford them an opportunity to have a blend of knowledge and expertise.
In the area of contribution of the non-oil sector, Sir Omotoso stated that the existing export incentive should be sustained, as its unimpeded continuity was capable of boosting the contribution of the non-oil sector to the nation's export revenue not only in 2007 but also beyond it. Government, according to him, needed to take such measures to ensure that strategic sectors improve their contribution to the economy.