The 50 percent reduction in electricity tariff by the Federal
Government is generating reactions. While some people say government's
intervention came when consumers, especially manufacturers, had
suffered losses due to sky-rocketing tariff amid erratic power supply,
others believe government acted in the nick of time to prevent the
industrial sector from collapse.
In a chat withSunday Vanguardin Lagos, an entrepreneur and Chancellor,
Akpabio Centre for Leadership Development, a non-governmental
organisation (NGO), set up for entrepreneurial development and
capacity building in Nigeria, Mr. Bassey James, said that the 50 per
cent slash in power tariff is a well thought-out initiative by
government to boost industrial growth.
According to him, "Government's decision to slash power tariff is a
clear demonstration of it plan to build local capacity. This implies
that government is looking inward to stimulate tangible growth in the
manufacturing sector of the economy. The good thing is that government
is putting measures in place to revamp manufacturing industries across
the country. The policy in electricity reduction now is a deliberate
attempt by government to enhance entrepreneurial development and
wealth creation in the economy".
He added, "With the current cut in electricity tariff many industries
would expand their operations. The reason being that, they would now
channel their income into exploring new window of investments, instead
of paying high electricity bills. I commend President Goodluck
Jonathan and his economic team for taking this pragmatic step to move
the economy forward. I am calling on all Nigerians to support Jonathan
for policy continuty in Nigeria. Also, the operators of Small and
Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country would benefit a lot because
this is an opportunity for more SMEs to spring up in different parts
of the country."
He went on, "This is a laudable policy for all consumers of
electricity, in particular the entrepreneurs. The efforts of the
current administration in growing non-oil export sectors is for people
to understand that Nigeria can build an economy without dependent on
crude oil revenue. Already government is investing so much in
agriculture and other sectors of the economy. This is the time for all
Nigerians to join hands together with the President to build a united
nation and a strong economy."
On what impact the reduction in electricity tariff can make, as power
supply currently is not constant, he said, "The reduction in high
electricity tariff is a major step that government has taken at
present. I am aware that government is also doing so much in trying to
increase electricity generation and distribution in the country by
giving financial support to the private investors running the power
plants. Most recently, Jonathan, commissioned the Olorunsogo power
project in Ogun State, designed to add 750Mega Watts (MW) of
electricity to the current capacity. The Ogun power plant is the third
in the series of 10 power stations to be commissioned under the
current administration. Similar projects were launched in Kogi and
Ondo States all in a bid to ensure sufficient power supply in the
country.
Responding to the recent launch of G-WIN project by Jonathan, he
explained, "The G-Win project is designed to empower women and girls
across the country. I am aware that the project has international
recognition from both the African Development Bank and the World Bank.
You can recall that government initially launched the Youth Enterprise
With Innovation in Nigeria (YouWin) programme designed to create
80.000 jobs for entrepreneurs between the ages 18 and 45. So, the
G-WIN programme is a follow-up to YouWin scheme".
--Vanguard
No comments:
Post a Comment