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Tosin Thompson
The CEO of Mezovest, Tosin Thompson, has said to halt the systemic issues stalling the implementation of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Initiative aimed at powering vehicles to significantly reduce energy costs, said that the time taken to procure licenses and secure other regulatory approvals should be reduced by eliminating unnecessary bottlenecks.
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Speaking with The Guardian, he said: “I agree with many of the systemic challenges raised by the Special Adviser on Energy and I think that addressing them quickly and holistically will be a significant boost for the economy. In terms of priority, I believe that it is important to give incentives that encourage production. That way, we can encourage independent participants in the production process, achieve a surplus, and see prices come down while adoption scales.”
Thompson stressed the point that encouraging production should not be viewed as another call for subsidies, but rather tax incentives that are efficient, effective, and less prone to corruption.
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He suggested that the government should suspend or reduce taxes on locally produced gas, priced in aira and push through local supply chains.
“However, this must not be confused with subsidies that would only open the door for huge corrupt practices.”
On the issue of the relationship between electricity supply and gas production, Thompson noted that producers can’t make their production costs due to the cap on the price of gas sold.
He recommended that the government intervene with other fiscal incentives on gas sold to the grid so producers make a margin even as those prices remain capped.
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