The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has expressed dissatisfaction over several bureaucratic and regulatory challenges at all arms and levels of government, attributing them as barriers to conducting business in Nigeria in terms of speed, cost, and transparency.
Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, PEBEC Secretary and Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, raised the alarm on Monday at the launch of the 7th National Action Plan in Abuja, stating that the PEBEC has approved the 7th National Action Plan (NAP 7.0) to further reduce the challenges faced by MSMEs across five areas.
These areas, according to her, agro-export implementation action plan, automation reforms, regulatory reforms, legislative/judicial reforms and executive order 01/reportgov.ng compliance reforms.
Oduwole explained that the NAPs are homegrown internationally recognized 60-day accelerators developed to coordinate the effective delivery of priority reforms implemented by selected ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), to drive ease of doing business in Nigeria.
According to her, the PEBEC has undertaken over 160 reforms since its inception in July 2016, all of which were developed through active engagement of private and public sector voices, and there was no better way to kick-start the seventh iteration of the exercise than by presenting the latest approved reforms to the ultimate beneficiaries.
“Therefore, the action plan is specially designed to break away from the lacklustre performance of our last two outings, NAP 5.0 and NAP 6.0, held in Q1 of 2020 and 2021, which saw the relevant ministries, departments and agencies perform below par at 44 per cent and 43 per cent respectively for a variety of reasons.”
“Accordingly, at its meeting of February 1, 2022, chaired by His Excellency, the Vice President, the PEBEC reached the firm conclusion and stated categorically that all relevant MDAs must strive to deliver and exceed reform target expectations during this 60-day accelerator.
“It is, therefore, our earnest expectation that by April 7, the NAP 7.0 will have delivered reform results that are a remarkable improvement over the performance of previous MDA outings in recent times.
“In the area of Ports and trade facilitation, the focus is on a 60-day agro-export action plan targeted at ensuring that perishable agricultural produce earmarked for export are allowed to move freely through our ports.
“Indeed, the faithful implementation of the agro-export plan is expected to boost the competitiveness of Nigeria’s agro-exports, and create jobs, while enhancing Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and providing good rewards for the labours of farmers all across Nigeria.”
She went on to say that the PEBEC is committed to continuing to work to create a business-friendly environment in which it is becoming increasingly easier to do business, where policies are predictable and consistent, where macroeconomic stability exists, and where the government acts as a partner to businesses and investors, rather than a competitor or an adverse regulator, in order to attract and retain much-needed investment into the economy to facilitate private sector-led growth and deregulation.
She underlined that an enabling business climate is essential for the successful implementation of the recently published National Development Plan 2021-2025, revealing that private-sector investment will account for 86 per cent of the plan’s funding requirements.
Oduwole noted that the PEBEC was committed to tracking the implementation progress over the next 60 days and giving periodic updates to Nigerians in the quest to strengthen its partnership towards making Nigeria a progressively easier place to do business.
Source: Guardian Nigeria
