The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and the Enhancing Nigerian Advocacy for a Better Business Environment phase II (ENABLE2) want the Federal Government to raise the participation of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in public procurement to 40 percent.
While recommending measures to stimulate patronage of made-in-Nigeria products, MAN and ENABLE 2 say it is important to take the growth of MSMEs seriously to create jobs and grow the economy.
Speaking at a press briefing to promote made-in-Nigeria products in Lagos, Frank Udemba Jacobs, president of MAN, said five sectors have been selected in the first phase of the made-in-Nigeria advocacy campaign. The sectors selected are: Textiles, wearing apparel, carpet, leather/leather footwear; Chemical and pharmaceuticals; Pulp, paper & paper products, printing & publishing; Basic metal, iron and steel and fabricated metal products, and Wood & wood products industry.
Jacobs said the selection was based on the outcome of studies commissioned by MAN and the computed sectoral margin of preferences (MOPs) with special consideration for SMEs, based on the perceived impacts the sectors will have on the growth of manufacturing output, investments, income, employment and government tax revenue.
He said this would be replicated in other sectors as the advocacy campaign progresses.
“Imagine that the government patronises local textile manufacturers for uniforms required by the Ministry of Interior, Defence, Health, Education, the National Youth Service Corps and the Nigeria Police Force, the impact on manufacturing output, employment and wealth creation would be overwhelming, with significant trickle down effects on every facet of the economy,” MAN president said.
He said to lead by example, MAN members have resolved to deepen intra-membership patronage among the membership by first sourcing inputs from one another before contemplating import.
“We believe that in doing so, the community working capital will continue to revolve in the sector and in the economy without significant import leakages,” he stated.
He said amendment of the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) Act by the National Assembly aimed at encouraging the patronage of Nigerian products by government establishments and the Executive Order 003 on Local Content as well as promotion of patronage of made-in-Nigeria products by the government, which gave 40 percent participation rate for MSMEs in public procurement in Nigeria, are exemplary.
He urged Nigerians to patronise locally produced goods, adding that “It is an established fact that when we buy foreign goods, we pay the returns to factors used in producing them in the originating countries; that is to say that we pay wages, rent, interest and profit to foreign countries with our local resources.”
ODINAKA ANUDU
