Manufacturing sector still hobbled by challenges despite our numerous submissions to govt-MAN
In spite of the numerous submissions to the government by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on how to address the challenges of the manufacturing sector, the situation has remained with adverse consequences to the sector.
President of MAN, Engr. Mansur Ahmed, who stated this on Tuesday, in Lagos, at the 2nd Adekola Odutola Lecture organised by the Association in commemoration of its 50th Annual General Meeting, noted that “the manufacturing sector is struggling to survive from high-cost operating environment, especially those arising from numerous fiscal darts constantly thrown at industries in a bid to upscale internally generated revenue.”
According to Mansur, “what is keeping the sector alive till date include, the enormity of investments on ground, huge goodwill, strategic thinking , sheer doggedness and commitment to sustaining industrialisation in Nigeria.”
He identified some of the challenges of the manufacturing sector requiring urgent attention as follows:
“The impact of tax-related policies on manufacturing concerns has been a mix grill. Some are positive especially those that extend special considerations to the small and medium enterprises, while others are negative exerting heavy pressure on the processes, documentations, cost profile and the bottom lines.”
According to Mansur, “most recently, there has been upsurge in the number of laws that make direct demand on the profit of companies as additional taxes and further increase in Excise Duties for some products in the sector.”
The theme of the AGM was ‘An Agenda for Nigeria’s Industrialisation in the next decade’ which Mansur said “is necessitated by the need to take stock of our journey into industrialization so far to ascertain the pains and pain-points, highlight performance limiters, recognise the gains and milestones, and to identify learning curves and hurdles for the journey ahead.”
He said that these will enable the association to craft a robust agenda for resetting industrialisation, albeit manufacturing in Nigeria for the next 10 years, believing that, this time, horizon is congenial to sustainable industrial development of the country, resonates with the government extant National Development Plan (2021-2025) and of course easier to monitor.
“I am confident that this lecture and our collective contributions to this discourse will point the government and the Association to priority policy areas, potent strategies and custom-made incentives capable of ramping up production massively for domestic consumption and export, while sustainably addressing the economic and social challenges confronting every Nigerian daily,” he added.
