Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) has asked the Federal Government, in 2020, to redirect its focus on the implementation of the Economic Recovery & Growth Plan (ERGP) which, in the outgone 2019, tended to receive less attention.
NECA is of the view that, this way, the efforts to restore economic growth and expand the tax net to improve revenue generation, will begin to yield positive results, as against the direct focus on tax increases, which have remained burdensome to businesses.
According to Timothy Olawale, the Director General of NECA, “beyond the rhetoric of improved Ease of Doing Business rating, employers expect that greater effort would be made to reign in the excesses of some regulatory authorities, whose actions tend to stifle businesses, invariably increasing the unemployment rate.
He believes that the private sector should be aggressively supported to create jobs through business-friendly policies and regulation.
Olawale, while reviewing the performance of the economy in 2019, stated that the economy struggled with a growth rate average of 2 percent in the first three quarters of 2019, with inflation still in double digit, orchestrated mainly by increasing food inflation as a result of the closure of land borders in order to curb smuggling.
He observed that though the economy has great potential for growth, a more concerted and collaborative efforts with the private sector could have made significant impact.
On organised private sector’s (OPS) expectation for 2020, Olawale called for synergy between the fiscal and monetary policies of government, as it seems only the monetary authorities have been in the driving seat of the economy. He averred that for any economy to fulfil its full potentials, efficiency and synergy of the fiscal and monetary authorities is critical.
On the budget 2020, Olawale called for “full and timely implementation of the budget and early release of funds in order to stimulate the economy. He also wants monitoring mechanisms be institutionalised to gauge how well the budget is implemented
Special focus, he noted, should be given to infrastructure development, as enshrined in the 2020 budget, saying this is the foundation for national development.
The DG stated that “we expect that for the sake of our country and the teeming populace, government at all levels will see the private sector as an engine of development and a worthy partner in the realisation of the Nigerian dream.
The executive and especially, the legislature, NECA insists, must facilitate an enabling environment for the economy to grow through business-friendly and citizen-focussed legislation for the betterment of our nation.
