– Demands removal of 7.5 VAT on diesel
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has listed high cost of diesel and other petroleum products, acute shortage of forex, insecurity across the country, inconsistent government policies and inadequate infrastructure at the seaports, as major challenges impeding local manufacturing in the country.
To this end, the Association has called on the government to remove the 7.5percent VAT on diesel pending the normalization of international supply system, in response to the disruptive impact of the on-going Russian-Ukraine war on the global supply value chain.
President of MAN, Engr Mansur Ahmed, also called on the federal government to quickly resolve the complexity surrounding the seamless implementation of the Eligible Customer Initiative to enable manufacturers take advantage of the stranded electricity.
Ahmed spoke in Port Harcourt at the 38th Annual General Meeting of Rivers and Bayelsa States branch of the Association.
“There is no doubt that the manufacturing sector suffered some setbacks in recent times. These challenges include among others, high cost of diesel and other petroleum products; acute shortage and high cost of forex, insecurity across the country; high cost of raw materials; inconsistent Government policies; high regulatory compliance cost; gridlock and inadequate infrastructure at the ports etc.
“Our more recent top advocacy item is our call on Government to urgently convene a Strategic Meeting with key operators in the Nigerian economic space to deliberate and craft a national strategic response to the disruptive impact of the on-going Russian-Ukraine war on the global supply value chain and its debilitating impact on our economy.
“We believe that this will help to identify viable options to ameliorate the impact of the disruption; agree on ways to assuage other pain points in the business environment; activate innovative solutions to familiar and emerging macroeconomic and infrastructure challenges and generally point the direction for resilience in the economic ecosystem.
“For instance, we opine that Government should remove the 7.5percent VAT on diesel pending the normalization of international supply system and quickly resolve the complexity surrounding the seamless implementation of the Eligible Customer Initiative to enable manufacturers take advantage of the stranded electricity.”
Ahmed, represented by the vice President of MAN, Eastern Zone, Engr. Chukwuemeka Nzewi, also urged government to prioritize allocation of forex to the manufacturing sector, while calling on the CBN to direct commercial banks to transparently and diligently process forex applications by manufacturers.
“It is also important to improve on the time taken to clear container/cargoes at the ports by ensuring that sound trade facilitation equipment such as scanners, are available. It is also important to reduce the various port charges and remove demurrage for unduly delayed clearance.
“We also call on government to enforce, evaluate and monitor the implementation of the Executive Order 003 to ensure compliance by MDAs and this should be cascaded to the local and state government levels.
“At the regional and continental levels, we are upscaling our advocacy radar by promoting industrialization and integration in West Africa through the Federation of West African Manufacturers Association.
“We are also facilitating co-operation amongst African Manufacturers in the promotion and protection of interests of manufacturing industry in Africa through the Pan-African Manufacturers Association. We hope to achieve cross-border value chain and scale production to ensure those African made products are traded in the continental market.”
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