The Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed Shamsuna, on Thursday commended the Kaduna State Government’s investment initiative, saying it was in line with the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
The Minister stated this in a statement by her Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Mr Paul Ella Abechi, as the Kaduna Investment Summit, (KADINVEST), kicks off in Kaduna.
She was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Special Duty, Dr M.K Dikwa, where she lauded the political will of the El’Rufai-led government to contribute it’s quota to turning around Africa’s extractive industries.
She also congratulated the Governor of Kaduna State over his re-election, and expressed confidence that he will take the State to Next Level of economic growth and development through good goverance as he had already achieved.
She said: “I would like to start by commending and congratulating His Excellency, the Executive Governor and his team for this laudable effort. It is my understanding that this summit is the fourth in the series being organized by the Kaduna State Government and this shows the commitment of the State in growing its investment frontiers to make Kaduna a destination choice for investors.
“The priority sectors being showcased at this summit including housing, manufacturing and agro-allied sectors show that indeed Kaduna in strategically aligned with the Federal Government’s growth agenda – the Economic Recovery & Growth Plan (ERGP), as these are also sectors that we believe will drive the sustainable, inclusive and accelerated socio-economic growth of our dear Nation- Nigeria.
“The priority sectors also show Kaduna’s willingness to contribute its quota to turning around Africa’s pervasive problem of having extractive industries with little or no value addition done. As most economies merely export raw materials and import finished goods, this implies that we not only export high value jobs but also lose out on value addition that we would have localized in our country. I therefore commend Kaduna and encourage other States to follow suit.”
According to her Kaduna State Government’s commitment to “bold reforms is yielding results with the State recognised as pacesetter in many regards” which 2018 Sub-national Ease of Doing Business Report ranked Kaduna as “the easiest place to enforce a contract and register a property”, therefore has eliminated the cumbersome processes of doing business as it used to be.
“Main talking pointsKaduna has achieved remarkable progress with ease of doing business, with the State acknowledged to be among those that have made the largest advance towards global practices frontier.
Kaduna State’s commitment to bold reforms is yielding results with the State recognized as a pace setter in many regards. For example, the 2018 Sub-national Ease of Doing business Report ranks Kaduna as the easiest place to enforce a contract and register a property.
In fact, Kaduna State’s Ease of Doing Business Charter has eliminated common challenges faced by investors who now have a ‘one-stop shop’ ‘to get approvals and business documentations at half of the time it used to take before.
“So also has the State continued to implement economic and market-oriented initiatives that have resulted in a complete change in the economic performance of the State. This includes among others, the implementation of the Fiscal Sustainability Plans for States – (implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), Enforcement of Procurement Act) and the establishment of the Kaduna Produce Management Company (KADPMC)”, she said.
The Minister also acknowledged major inflow of investments into the state in the last four years as a result of economic policies and reforms that have created the enabling ground that has yielded positive results and impacts.
“The multi-faceted reforms in the State have indeed attracted groundbreaking investments by global powerhouses, including OLAM that has opened a $100m OLAM Integrated Feed Mill and Poultry (a major investment in Kaduna State in decades).
The rigorous verification exercises to remove ghost workers from Payroll of the State’s Civil Service, as well as massive infrastructural developments in Roads and Power has brought about great improvements in the economy of the State there by making the State the leader in the Public Financial Management.
As no economy can grow or attract investment without the requisite infrastructure, Kaduna in cognizance of this has increased its yearly Allocation for Capital Budgets, which has increased since 2015. An initial 125% increase was recorded between 2015 and 2016, which was further surpassed in 2017 and 2018″, she added.
Other areas she lauded the Kaduna State Government were on developing an infrastructure master plan that presents a blueprint for Kaduna to bridge the infrastructural gap and create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, continued adoption and implementation of many Federal Government policies, especially on Financial Accountability and Public Finance Management, which has resulted in a drastic growth in the State’s economy with an influx of investors.
However, the Minister pointed in her speech as her recommendation that, “States invest in economic development to encourage job growth, increase wages, and raise the standard of living for their residents. States economic development efforts, however, typically encompass many programmes administered by several agencies at different levels of government, making it difficult to coordinate investments across the state.
“Kaduna State can better leverage scarce resources by coordinating investments across agencies and incorporating executive or legislative mechanisms for interagency communication, data sharing, program evaluation, and long-term planning.
“Furthermore, I encourage the State government to seize available opportunities to unify its economic development strategy by continued collaboration with different agencies to set priorities, foster communication, encourage program evaluation and data gathering, and create single destinations where investors can access state economic development resources. Although unifying the state strategy and all categories of investments (i.e. Market Place, Workforce and Community), is a complex endeavor, increasing coordination and collaboration can help the state invest its scarce resources in programs that achieve the desired economic outcomes”, she stated.
