Experts urge government to tackle growth impeding factors across sectors
– Seek complementary policies as palliatives to border closure
For the economy to record meaningful recovery, there is a need for the government to study every sector of the economy and identify issues impeding growth in these sectors.
The experts, who spoke at the signing of the Association of Investment Advisers and Portfolio Managers (IAPM), and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI), in Lagos, at the weekend, said government must also create perfect alternatives and complementary policies that would make people derive long-term benefits from the recent border closure.
Specifically, the President, IAPM, Abimbola Olashore, said one major imperative that would grow the economy in a sustainable manner by 2020 is the creation of jobs, and ensure that youths are gainfully employed.
According to them, this will improve business activities in the country, alleviate poverty, and strengthen economic fundamentals.
Furthermore, he noted that the ease of doing business and infrastructure development must be prioritised, to create a more competitive and productive environment.
He argued that it will be counter-productive for Nigeria to depend on others for things that can easily be produced locally, adding that if Nigerians can tame their craving for importation, then the pressure on the economy will give way for growth.
He added: “One major area that we would also look at is the cost of doing business. Here, the infrastructure deficit gives you cost; the cost of accessing finance is still very high. So in all, we must keep these in mind when formulating policies in 2020.
“Again, how do we ensure that we are reducing the cost of people that are actually operating in this environment? So I look at any policy from that perspective. What we are seeing so far is what I call harsh, blunt policies.
“Border closure cannot be government policy; it is just a reaction to the current situation. The question now is, what other complementary policies are you going to come up with to make the border closure worth it in the long run? These are key.
Olashore said the partnership with CISI would enable IAPM to serve as an accredited training partner for all the stages of the CISI wealth management, the pinnacle wealth management qualification offered by CISI.
“The CISI will also be able to deliver its wide range of financial training products to the Nigeria market through IAPM training platform. The CISI is a professional body of choice for financial service practitioners within the investment industry.”
The Vice President, IAPM, Olufemi Awoyemi, urged investors to leverage the professional advisory services of members in terms of quality investment decision.
“One of the challenges of the environment is how we relate to professional advisers. How many investors today relate with professional advisers? One of the challenges in the market is recognising the role of advisers. People who have been trained, and go through proper processes are more reliable when it comes to investment.
“During the recent crash, one of the challenges is the absence of proper advisory services; it was an all-comers affair. Here there are people that are well trained to foster this kind of advisor service that people should depend on. Culturally, we do not have people who go to advisers to seek advice,” he said.
Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardian’s leading coverage of Nigerian and world news, business, technology and sports.
0 Comments
We will review and take appropriate action.