MAN urges fiscal, monetary authorities’ collaboration for robust growth in manufacturing sector
Following the prevalent challenges being faced in the manufacturing sector in Nigeria, there is a clarion call by the advocacy group, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, (MAN) that the policymakers step up their games by tackling the root causes of the economic quagmire rather than addressing symptoms.
The call was made in the MAN Quarterly Economic Report noting that the fiscal authority must chart a new course in collaboration with the monetary authority to expedite the much-needed structural reforms in a highly coordinated approach.
According to the report, the achievement of a double-digit growth and a friendly macroeconomic environment will require a shift in policy focus, adding that monetary policy must be supported by a robust fiscal framework and comprehensive structural reforms.
The report stressed that the Governor of the Central Bank and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy must facilitate stronger handshake, actively engage with the private stakeholders and ensure policy coherence and proper communication.
Consequently, it recommended that the Government actively adopt the following measures to tackle the burning challenges that are destabilizing the economy and deviating the country from the path of robust growth.
“Pause interest rate hikes and conduct ex-ante and ex-post impact assessment of policies for effective control of consequences and appropriate adjustment.
“Honour the unsettled $2.4 billion Forex forward contract to further increase market confidence and promote FDI inflow.
“Review the electricity tariff hike to only 100% increase of the previous price and improve electricity access by introducing an outage compensation mechanism.
“Expedite the passage and implementation of the four tax reform bills aimed at restructuring, streamlining and establishing unified tax processes.
“Extend the Presidential Order suspending import duty and VAT on essential food items and pharmaceutical supplies to other manufacturing sectors.
“Freeze the exchange rate at N1,000/$ in calculation of import duties for production inputs, including raw materials, machines and spare parts that are not locally available.
“Categorize manufacturers as strategic users of Gas to remove the gap between what manufacturers and electricity generation companies pay per cubic foot of gas.
“Speed up efforts to decentralize the national grid through the adoption of mini-grids and the acquisition of the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System.
“Expedite the implementation of the National Single Window and establish an NSW InterMinisterial Committee co-chaired by private and public sectors to superintend the administration.
“Set an annual threshold for the importation of non-locally available products and set respective timelines to domesticate their production,” the report emphasized.
