To enable growth and expansion in real sector of the economy, stakeholders have called for regulatory reforms that will enable pension and insurance funds to channel their part of their investment to that area of the economy.
Stakeholders who spoke at the 5th national conference of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO), themed “promoting bankable investments portfolio for insurance and pension sectors, said the country’s economy must be retooled to achieve economic growth.
According to them, insurance and pension provide long- term funds that could help key sectors in the economy to spike, having been battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, #ENDSARS mayhem, as well as other economic headwinds affecting productivity and growth.
Austin Enajemo- Isere, chairman, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), said there was urgent need to consider alternative strategies to retool the economy for survival and growth even as he called for the review of the Pension Reform Act ( PRA) to enable those in real sectors of the economy have access to Insurance and Pension fund to finance their operations.
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Austin Enajemo- Isere, who identified the effect of the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic and wanton destruction of life and properties across the country caused by the ‘#ENDSARS mayhem, among many others on the economy, noted that the impact of these crises has resulted in the national GDP declining from a growth of 2.2 percent in 2019 to about -4 percent by year-end.
He, therefore, advocated for a deliberate policy by the authorities, in addition to what is currently obtainable, directly or through moral suasion to invest insurance and pension fund in sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture and aviation, etc with an inbuilt safety net.
“In furtherance to the foregoing, the current restrictive nature of insurance and pension funds investment outlets calls for review of the legislations guiding the investment of insurance and pension fund. The yelling and plea from the organised private sector to create more access to investible funds deserve attention.
He noted also that consideration for review of these legislations to enable some special and real sectors of the economy to have access to Insurance and Pension fund to finance their operations will be most beneficial to the growth and development of the nation’s economy.
Muda Yusuf, director-general, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) who presented the paper on the theme of the conference, noted that businesses in the economy face a lot of risks, which makes it difficult for them to survive.
He noted that some of the risks include regulatory risks, policy risks, macroeconomic risks, exchange rate risks, infrastructure risks, political risks, and security risks.
He called stakeholders including regulators in the financial services industry – the CBN, NAICOM, SEC and players in the industry to create a framework to derisk the investment space that will encourage and improve investor confidence.
