Road to job creation, mass production

Sir: Olorogun David Edevbie in his article titled “Stabilising Naira through fiscal/monetary policies” in The Guardian, Wednesday and Thursday, April 6 and 7 advised that a devalued Naira and implementing monetary and fiscal policies, which will enhance local production and curtail importation is the solution to our economic woes. This is the same argument made by IMF, World Bank and Ibrahim Babangida in 1986 when the naira was devalued. For the past 30 years (1986 – 2016), we have had a weak or cheap naira. What have we gained from it? After devaluation in 1986, we got Stagnation. We have had enough of naira devaluation. We have had enough of fiscal and monetary policies that do not work. Let us go for structural policy, that is, a move away from subsistence economy to corporate or commercial economy. An economy of formal enterprises and not of informal enterprises. Formal economy and not informal economy.

Edevbie, as a former commissioner of finance and current commissioner of finance of Delta State should know that charity begins at home (Delta State). In Ibori’s eight years in office as governor, he created more than 50,000 informal enterprises, all have died. Billions of naira were wasted. Ibori did not revive the economy of Delta State: Bendel Glass was not revived, Bendel Steel was not revived, Asaba Textiles was not revived, Sapele Plywood Industry was not revived, just to mention a few. Former Gov. Uduaghan created 112,000 informal enterprises in his eight years in office, all are dead. Billions of naira wasted. He did not revive Bendel Glass, Bendel Steel, Asaba Textiles, Sapele Plywood Industry and other moribund enterprises. It is shameful!

Today, Governor Okowa has promised to create 6,000 informal enterprises every six months instead of reviving Bendel Glass, Bendel Steel, Asaba Textiles, Sapele Plywood Industry and other moribund enterprises. Doing the same thing all over again? What a shame! Formal enterprises are the solution and not informal enterprises. Only formal enterprises can bring about decent jobs and mass production.

• Omohakpor Enaye,
Delta State.