Ahmed
The President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, Mansur Ahmed, has commended the Media for accurate reportage on the Manufacturing which is the Real Sector of the economy.
He gave this commendation at the 6th edition of the MAN Reporter of the Year Award and Presidential Media Luncheon 2022 last week in Lagos.
“I would like to acknowledge the esteemed presence of some members of MAN National Council from our branches and sectoral groups who have joined me to celebrate our friends in the media today. I thank you all for coming.
“We applaud your contributions as partners in building a productive and prosperous nation by joining us to advocate for conducive manufacturing environment”, he said.
“I must acknowledge the role you played during the Association’s 50th Anniversary Celebration last year, you definitely made the occasion remarkable with your objective news feature and broadcast that centered on the very essence of the Anniversary theme “Building a Resilient and Competitive Manufacturing Sector”.
Let me equally appreciate you for your kind understanding on some occasions that I could not entertain some interview requests for time constraints.
“From submissions received, I have received positive feedback on the quality of published and broadcasted works submitted for the Award and I am highly impressed at your level of commitment to this project of nation building through your reportage. Later today, awardees will be announced and recognized. But I need to emphasize that you are all winners in your own right. The work you do is very critical and MAN is delighted to have you as partners”.
“You will agree with me that the manufacturing sector deserves more critical attention, giving the plethora of challenges that our members face in the course of production. We are expectant that with your consistent push and noticeable collaboration there would be improvement in the manufacturing landscape.
“Recently, the Leadership of the Association paid a courtesy visit to President Muhammadu Buhari, and we seized the opportunity to present the critical areas of need for the manufacturing sector. The hardship being experienced by Manufacturers in obtaining forex to procure raw materials and spare parts that are not locally available was part of the issues discussed. This is in spite of the several Central Bank of Nigeria policies such as the Naira4dollar scheme, Ban of Sale of Forex to BDCs and most recently the proposed RT 200 FX Programme which stands for the “Race to US$200 billion in FX Repatriation”.
“While we commend the good intention of the CBN for these policies, particularly to drive support for the real sector of the economy, there is need to establish mechanisms for robust monitoring and evaluation which ought to be part of the plan to ensure that the support to drive export really comes to fruition. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, who represents the interest of manufacturers in Nigeria, has offered to be a part of this process. We shall continue to offer recommendations to the government that will increase manufacturing sector’s contribution to the nation’s GDP”.
“You are equally be aware of the N10/per liter excise duty on the non-alcoholic sweetened carbonated drinks which the Association has vehemently spoke against due to the negative impact on the economy with the end-users left to bear the cost.
“Evidently, the sector will be negatively affected by the excise duty beyond the increase in production cost coupled with the impart of Covid-19 on our business environment, equally will be that of weaken the sector’s recovery process.
“To a large extent, hindrances experienced in the productive sector are largely caused by policy inconsistency and somersaults which leave no room for proper planning and projection. Indeed, this has led many manufacturers to close shop and discouraged prospective investors who are unsure what the next move of Government will be.
“Notwithstanding, the Association will continue to strengthen its efforts to proactively engage policy makers through evidenced based advocacy so that Government can see through the eyes of operators and contribute to the growth and development of the Nation’s economy by the right policy choices.
“This year, we shall endeavor to work more closely with you our partners, to explore innovative and more strategic advocacy mechanisms that will scale-up the performance of the manufacturing sector and its contribution to the economy.
Let me once again say thank you and congratulations in advance to our Award winners, you deserve all the attention you are getting today from leading national business membership organization in Africa
