NACC urges government to address ease of doing business, insecurity concerns
Nigeria-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) has urged the government to prioritise ease of doing business and infrastructure development to create a more competitive and productive environment.
Reviewing the Chamber’s performance at its 2021 yearly general meeting, the President of the Chamber, Dame Adebola Williams said advancing ease of doing business in Nigeria would stimulate business activities in the country and strengthen economic fundamentals.
Williams also expressed displeasure over the impact of rising insecurity on the nation’s economy, stating that the country may not make any meaningful progress if the current insecurity situation persists.
Furthermore, she noted that with the removal of Bureau de Change from operations in 2021, forex rates have increased significantly.
According to her, this may result in heightened instability in the coming months as predicted by economic pundits if the government does not undertake deliberate policy interventions.
She said: “The negative impacts of insecurity on the nation’s economy has been unprecedented, with businesses of the generality of our members, who are largely SMEs, impacted quite significantly. Our government needs to be up and doing. Everybody is affected.
“We need the government to put in place conditions that will ensure that businesses can be done better. So many things are wrong; is it the power supply you want to talk about, is it the deplorable state of the roads, farmers can no longer transport their products from one place to another. Excluding the pandemic, 2021 was herculean for those running a business in Nigeria and particularly challenging, owing to myriad of other reasons, which include nationwide insecurity, banditry and terrorism.
“We have one of our strongest chapters in Kaduna and everybody is complaining. Look at the people who were attacked on the train six months ago; some of them have not been released. Some could have been our members and it could have happened to any of us. Indeed, the government needs to create a more conducive environment for businesses to thrive,” she said.
On the activities of the Chamber during the review period, the president said the NACC has continued to chart the path to the nation’s economic growth through its various programmes and initiatives.
She cited the chamber’s project 13-13-13 initiative which consists of 13 strategic objectives, 13 economic initiatives and 13 administrative initiatives, noting that the implementation of these programmes would take the chamber to greater heights and increase its global competitiveness.
Williams also pointed out that the chamber is working closely with the American Consulate in Lagos on issues pertaining to the nation’s economic development.
She said the Chamber has concluded an arrangement to streamline its chapters to make them more functional and deliver better and quality service to its members this year, adding that more chapters may be created in the U.S before the end of the tenure of the current executive.
The chamber posted a total income of N35.2 million against N35.8 million achieved in the corresponding period in 2020 while total expenditure stood at N39.1 million, lower than N40.4 million recorded during the same period in 2020.
