Randle urges inclusiveness in govt to tackle economic woes

Renowned Nigerian Chartered Accountant, Bashorun J. K. Randle has called for inclusiveness in President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to tackle the nation’s economic woes.

Randle, who spoke at the post-yearly general meeting of the International Chamber of Commerce Nigeria (ICCN), in Lagos, said, it was wrong for the current administration to rely on its team without seeking outputs from other qualified Nigerians.

The present economic woes, he said, have shown that there is need to bring in new ideas and not to rely on old recycled ideas, hence the need for inclusiveness.

According to him, the worst calamity that can befall business leaders and corporate organisations that are affected by indolence, complacency, subversive inertia or lack of vision, is to invest in skills, services or products that have been proscribed by regulations or rendered obsolete by science, technology or artificial intelligence.

The analogue, he said, has been supplanted by the digital economy.

Randle, who spoke on issue relating to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), stressed the need to build on the global strategic framework for companies to place sustainability at the heart of their operations from staff recruitment to production.

He said: “Switzerland attempted to introduce an entirely new dimension to its political economy and governance – the somewhat exotic concept of Universal Basic Income [UBI] whereby the government would provide every citizen a guaranteed income.

“It sounds more like a pipe dream than serious government policy. The Swiss voted on it on June 5, 2016 but it was rejected – 77 per cent to 23 per cent.

“However, its supporters claim that it is just the beginning of a transition as inevitable as the eight hour day once was.

“The central thrust of the proposal is that the government will provide a basic income for all citizens., that the basic income will allow the people to live in a dignified manner and participate in public life and that legislation will determine the funding for the system and the actual amount of the basic income.

“The income proposed by the promoters of the referendum was about U.S. $30,000 (thirty thousand US/Swiss dollars) a year.

“Of course, we cannot ignore the fact that universal basic income may trigger many undesirable features particularly “non-negligible disincentive to work”.

“In addition, we have to contend with the imminent invasion of robots who are increasingly taking over the factories in an environment that is becoming increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence – even cars are now on the motorways/highways without drivers!” , he said.