Why national economic devt plans fail, by Ngige

National development plans and agenda of successive governments fail because drafters don’t infuse productivity, said Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.

Speaking at the 6th Foundation Day lecture of the National Productivity Centre in Abuja, yesterday, Ngige said: “Nigerians have experienced a gap in the extent to which plans succeeded or would succeed. It is what I call the productivity gap. Productivity must be mainstreamed into every plan to actualise growth and development.”

Ngige was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Yerima Tarfa.

On his part, Coordinator of the National Social Investment Programme, Umar Bindir, said emphasis on education and research must be marketing of products and competitiveness.

He argued that while Nigeria produces brilliant academics, what is required for development of the country is ability to build a strong intellectual property system.

Speaking on the theme, ‘Productivity Paradox: Creating the Pathway of Growth and Development’, Bindir said Nigeria must focus on application of indigenous technological outputs aimed at harnessing the nation’s resources and capabilities, developing skills and applying innovative and inventive strategies to strengthen economic activities such as the establishment of SMEs, incubation hubs/centres and technology parks for sustainable economic development.

Board Chairman of National Productivity Centre, Eyo Ekpo, submitted that improvement in productivity has become a major driving force behind economic development, with total reliance on knowledge, creativity, innovation, wealth creation and employment generation.