Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Falling manufacturing capacity in Nigeria 750 factories close down The dismal state of industrial activities in the country was highlighted on Tuesday by manufacturers who disclosed that 750 firms, have closed down in recent times due to adverse operating conditions. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria said the 750 industrial outfits, representing 30 per cent of its 2,500 members nationwide, have closed down. About 60 per cent or 1,500 are ailing, while the remaining 10 per cent or 250, are operating at a barely sustainable level, the association said. The acting Director-General, MAN, Mr. Jide Mike, disclosed these figures at a news conference in Lagos. He said the debris of dilapidated manufacturing concerns across the country, was the outcome of several years of adverse operating conditions, stressing that weak and non-existent infrastructure remained a huge burden on the manufacturing sector. In addition, Mike said policy somersaults and funding problems remained a challenge to stakeholders in the manufacturing sector in spite of the several palliatives, including the Small and Medium Industries Equity Investment Scheme and other sector-specific incentives. “Similarly, low industrial capacity utilisation has rubbished any degree of competitive edge in the sector, while the few surviving companies now drown in the flood of globalisation,” he said. He explained, “At independence in 1960, the contribution of the manufacturing sector to Gross National Domestic Product was 3.8 per cent. Notwithstanding the growing contribution and dominance of the oil sector since the 1970s, manufacturing recorded impressive performance and contributed on the average of about 9.9 per cent, while from 1975 - 1981; industrial capacity utilisation was consistently above the 70 per cent mark. “The story today is different. The sector is back at independence level. The manufacturing sector contributed 4.7 to GDP in 2003, while industrial capacity utilisation dropped to a paltry 48.8per cent in 2003.” In response to these daunting problems, the association, he said, had taken up the challenge to midwife new strategies to rescue local manufacturers from the present precarious situation; return the industrial sector to improved productivity; and restore manufacturing to its proper position in Nigeria’s economy, especially in terms of contribution to growth and development. He disclosed that in the unfolding development, the new mission of MAN would be driven through MAN’s Nationwide Forum For Reviving Nigerian Industries,” designed to galvanize all members of the association to take a common stand on major issues that would lead manufacturers out of the present quagmire. He said the forum would further create the opportunity for consolidating the opinion and interests of all MAN members on issues of specific and general interests to their businesses. He said the outcome of the forum would to empower the MAN to promote the formulation of robust policies, which would support a virile manufacturing sector in Nigeria. The PUNCH, Wednesday, March 2, 2005 back to previous page Copyright 2005 Punch (Nigeria) Limited. All Rights Reserved  Powered by dnetsystems.net dnet® 11:24:31 PM    comment []

Nigeria's Debt to the Paris Club Search this site back to previous page Log In   Log In   Sign Up Now   Sign Up Now   The Punch Mar 2 2005   Nigeria pays $42bn interest on $13bn loan Oluyinka Akintunde, Abuja The Debt Management Office on Tuesday said that about $42billion had been paid in the past 38 years to the Paris Club as interests and penalties on $13.5billion loans to Nigeria. But the country still owes the club $25billion, mainly as a result of accrued interests. The loans were obtained between 1965 and 2003. The Director, Portfolio Management, in the DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, made this known at a forum on “Debt Burden and Poverty Reduction Strategies: The Role of African Union,” in Abuja. Nwankwo, who lamented that other African countries had had similar experiences like Nigeria, said the Paris Club had become a debt enhancing rather than debt reduction association. He said, “The Paris Club has emerged as a cartel of official creditors for negotiations over debts owed by a number of developing countries, including African countries. “The experience of Nigeria with the Paris Club arrangement, which is predicated mainly on debt rescheduling, clearly demonstrates the jeopardy faced by African debtor countries- a trap of endless cycle of debt burden. “Agreement with Paris Club provides rescheduling as a way of providing debt relief for debtors but experience has shown that it only succeeds in keeping debtors in a vicious circle of heavy burden.” According to him, debt service payments by Nigeria and other African countries had deprived them of the resources needed for socioeconomic development and poverty reduction. He maintained that debt relief remained cardinal for African countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. “The African Union faces the historic challenge of taking initiatives at both the external and domestic fronts towards securing substantial debt relief and attracting massive capital inflow to stimulate growth, development and poverty reduction,” Nwankwo said. He said that good governance should be cultivated and sustained across the continent as an inevitable foundation for Africa’s recovery from debt problem and growth. Nwankwo said, “Adequate regulatory framework and transparency in public administration are essential ingredients in the turnaround process. African leaders should re-dedicate themselves to selfless service. “Without a rebirth in selfless service by political leadership, economic turnaround and poverty reduction will remain a mirage.” The Paris Club is an informal group of official creditors whose role is to find co-ordinated and sustainable solutions to payment difficulties experienced by debtor nations. The name comes from the fact that the meetings are often chaired by an official from the French Treasury Department. Nigeria’s external debt rose from $32.916 billion in December 2003 to $34 billion in December 2004. The Federal Government paid $1.8 billion out of a debt obligation of $6.3 billion in 2004. The government’s debt obligation in 2005 is $7.8 billion. The government intends to pay $1.7 billion in 2005. The Paris Club is to receive $1billion; multilateral financial institutions, $432.8 million; Promissory Notes, $170.8 million; Par Bonds, $90.1 million; and Non-Paris Club, $11.2 million. Nigeria signed bilateral agreements with the 15 member-countries of Paris Club, thereby spreading debt service payments over 18 to 20 years. Creditor countries have rebuffed efforts by President Olusegun Obasanjo to get them to write down Nigeria’s debts. They claim that Nigeria makes enough money from oil to pay its debts and still have enough to achieve significant growth and development, if it prudently manages its resources. The PUNCH, Wednesday, March 2, 2005 11:20:37 PM    comment []

Bribery Ministers and Obasanjo Guardian Mar 2 2005 Obasanjo probes ministers over bribery charges by Rep From Martins Oloja Abuja Bureau Chief RECENT allegations by a member of the House of Representatives that ministers were bribing the National Assembly to secure easy passage for their budgets are being investigated by President Olusegun Obasanjo. The President reportedly broke his silence on the matter on Wednesday last week at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting. He was said to have directed all the ministers to personally appear before him to explain their roles in the saga before he completes his investigation. The Guardian learnt that the President went further to ask the ministers who are in the scandal to confess to him quietly or keep silent and be sanctioned. An angry President Obasanjo was said to have declared: "I have been reliably informed that you have been engaged in bribing the National Assembly to pass your budgets. If you have been involved, you had better come to me privately and confess. But if you do not confess and my investigation implicates you, it will then be terrible for you... " He was said to be bitter that one of the pillars of his administration - anti-corruption crusade - was desecrated by those he had picked to be the arrowheads. The President was said to have recounted his fight against the age-long problems of budget distortions and complications. It was learnt that Obasanjo was saddened by the claims that members of his cabinet who have subscribed to the Kuru Declaration of Transparency and Probity are alleged to be actors in the vice. A cabinet source said that when the President introduced the graft charges at the FEC meeting, mum was the word as no minister confessed or commented on the subject which came under, "Any Other Business". A member of the House of Representatives, Haruna Yerima had on February 16 accused the ministers of bribing the legislature to increase their votes and also pass their budgets. Yerima claimed that the National Assembly had been so sleazy and corrupt that members even collect bribes from ministers and heads of government's agencies to approve their requests. He said: "Whoever tells you that there is no corruption in the House is in fact, corrupt. Ministers and heads of parastatals are often asked to bring money by some honourable members so that their budgets can be passed". The legislator, who was quickly suspended by the House for four months for blowing the whistle over the scandal, has maintained his position on the matter. He also said that "MTN bribes us every month. It brings cards worth N7,500 monthly to each member. I am not working for MTN. I see no reason why MTN should be doing that monthly. I want to write to the Chairman, House Committee on Communications that please we have 360 members, when you go to MTN to collect these things, please, collect for 359". That is to exclude him. Yerima equally accused his colleagues of making shallow contribution to bills and deceiving the electorate. "Most of us are contractors. Most of us come here to make money; make what you can make and leave. Most of our debates are beer parlour debates. No research, we argue like ordinary people on the streets. Our debate is shallow," he declared. Allegations of corruption against the National Assembly first came to the fore in August 2003 when the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, said that two principal officers of the Senate: Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu and Deputy Senate Leader Jonathan Zwingina, had demanded N54 million bribe to clear him as a minister. The charges, which shook the nation, ended up in an anti-climax when the Senate cleared the accused lawmakers for lack of evidence.`       BUSINESS SERVICES Property Appointments Money Watch Market Report Capital Market Business Travels Maritime Watch Industry Watch Energy Report Insurance Compulife © 2003 - 2005 @ Guardian Newspapers Limited (All Rights Reserved).  Powered by dnetsystems.net dnet® 10:31:27 PM    comment []