The 14th Honorary
International Investor Council (HIIC) meeting was held between the 20th and
21th of June, 2013 at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.
The two-day meeting
was attended by Mr. President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, the Vice
President, Arch. Mohammed Namadi Sambo, GFR, the Coordinator of the Council,
Baroness Lynda Chalker, the Economic Ministers led by the Minister of Industry,
Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga and Minister of National Planning,
Dr. Shamsudeen Usman and 10 members of the Council; Alec Erwin, Olivier Suinat,
Haruki Hayashi, Guillaume Roux, Jim Ovia, Jacques Maraud des Grottes, Andrew
Brown, Emmanuel Ijewere, David Haworth, Femi Otedola, Aliko Dangote, Umar
Mutallab, Simon Harford, Sam Jonah.
The Council
reviewed the state of the economy through presentations made by Council Members
and the Economic Ministers. Council further offered suggestions on how to
sustain the delivery of good governance, improve national and international
perception, and increase private participation in the re-engineering of the
economy.
Accordingly,
Council:
i. commended the Administration on progress attained
in the implementation of Council’s recommendations particularly those of
developing performance matrix for the administration and all government
agencies and departments;
ii. commended government for the proactive management
of the economy that has stabilized currency against international currencies
and curtailed the inflation rate within single digit during the last two years;
iii. commended government for focusing on the
manufacturing sector and urged that its existing incentive regime including the
5 years tax holiday, and the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) be maintained to
further support the sector to achieve the target of 20% contribution to GDP;
iv. commended the plans to transform the aviation
industry which was hinged on a well thought-out visionary plan that proposes to
make Nigeria a regional hub. It however urged government to restrict its
involvement to setting standards while maximizing private sector participation
in the sector; with minimal public sector participation.
vi. commended government for the successful
privatization of the power sector, generation and distribution plants which had
been internationally acknowledged to be one of the most transparent exercise;
vii. commended government on the efficient management
of the 2012 flood disaster without experiencing food crisis;
viii. observed the growing unemployment rate and the
rising number of poor skilled workforce which was associated with the poor
state of the educational system. It therefore urged Federal Government to
improve on its synergy with the other tiers of government and the industry in
order to build basic education geared towards enhancing capacity of the
workforce for industrialization of the economy;
ix. encouraged government to proactively sell
positive story about Nigeria to the international audience through the media
for the purpose of enhancing the image of the country as the preferred
investment destination in Africa
x. noted the increasing interest shown by
international investing community on the Nigerian economy; an indication of
improved perception and confidence of the international community on the
management of the Nigerian economy;
xi. noted the concerted effort by government
that has considerably improved the security situation in the Northern part of
the country. The Council however looked forward to timely restoration of
normalcy in the region, in order to improve the country’s image
internationally;
xii. noted the
commitment of government to fighting corruption through the numerous programmes
that have enhanced transparency in governance and plugged loopholes in the
financial system which had hitherto facilitated financial crimes;
xiii. noted the
need for Government CBI to focus on industrialization. It is a unique
opportunity for the country. Nigeria should leverage on areas where it has
competitive advantage e.g:
a. automobile
b. manufacturing
c. value addition for agricultural
produce consumption domestically and for export
d. petrochemicals
e. refineries
xiv. noted the huge potential of the economy in
gas and efforts of government at enhancing capacity for exploitation to promote
industrialization; Council however urged government to review gas pricing to
make it globally competitive;
xv. noted the proactive initiative of single
window by customs and urged government to ensure that project is national in
outlook and incorporates all stakeholders in trade and investment facilitation;
xvi. advised government to deliberately create
enabling business climate to support local investors as a means of
strategically transforming the industrial sector of the economy. It commended
leading domestic entrepreneurs for making bold moves to contribute
substantially to the manufacturing sector of the economy;
xvii. urged government to sustain its investment
in building the physical infrastructure of the economy such as power generation
& transmission, roads and rail, and airports in order to enhance the global
competitiveness of Nigeria’s business environment;
xviii. resolved to support the Federal government in
tackling the challenge of oil theft. The Council further committed to offer
help in getting international engagement to stop the crime and attendant
environmental degradation;
xix. resolved to further complement government’s
efforts in fighting corruption, Council adopted the ‘Clean Business Nigeria
Today’ (CBNT) initiative as a means of integrating the private sector into the
efforts of government to frontally deal with the issues of corruption. The
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will serve as the Grand Patron of
the initiative.
xx. commended Immigration Service for the
introduction of on-line passport processing platform but was advised to improve
on the broadband which has make the processing ineffective and cumbersome. The
immigration Service was also requested to set up Visa Disaster Recovery Centres
(in Lagos and Kano) as backup in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
xxi. requested Immigration Service to discontinue
the issuance of transit visa in order to align with, and facilitate the process
of making Nigeria Regional Commercial Hub. The Service was also advised to
reduce the number of officials attending to passengers at the airports to ease
flow of people in and out of the country
xxii. observed the need for upgrading of the After Care
Committee established to address investor needs in order to enhance service
delivery to investors within and outside the country
xxiii. observed that the 4% stamp duty by the Internal
Revenue Service on business registration is disincentive to investment and
should be proactively addressed for the purpose of reducing cost of doing
business in Nigeria
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