Stakeholders in the real sector have commended the Federal Government for the reduction of import duties, even as they demanded for further reduction of the duties.
Though they agreed that the development will improve the economy, because the items are sources of raw materials for industries in the country, they insisted that since the government has promised that it wants Nigeria to be industrialised, further reduction will positively affect the economy.
The Managing Director, Integrated Industries, Mr. Funso Ogunyanwo, explained that policies should be directed at helping local production of goods and services. According to him, most of the industries have no raw materials and the few that import are lamenting the dwindling fortunes of the naira against the dollar.
He said, “If import duties dropped further, it will help local manufacturers. There will be no difference between the values of imported and locally manufactured goods. I encourage my colleagues to go ahead in pursuing their ways of doing business, while we continue to call on the government to reduce the duties.
“Government should ensure that there is foreign exchange to bring those raw materials to the country. Lack of foreign exchange is still a big problem. The government needs to make forex available to industrialists, so that we can bring in raw materials.”
Another manufacturer, Mr. Olusegun Omole, expects the government to provide more incentives for producers of goods and services, in order to create more industries and stabilise the economy. According to him, one of the ways to ensure that is to improve access to capital.
He added, “If the government gives incentives for machines to be brought into the country, and there is no working capital, it will not help. That is why you find many moribund industries in the country.
The government should provide more money to the development banks, so that they will provide more capital to industrialists and also make the process of accessing the loans easy.
“Since, the economy officially slid into recession,n following two consecutive quarters of negative growth of -0.36 per cent and -2.06 per cent during the first and second quarters respectively, there has been no real policy, whether fiscal or monetary, to stimulate output. Fiscal policy in times of recession should be expansionary.
The reduction of the import duties is a right step in the right direction. I am equally of the view that monetary policy should toe the same easing path till the economy is out of the woods.”
