THE Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has urged the Federal Government to reappraise its monetary and fiscal policies to address the challenges confronting the nation.
Speaking in Abuja, its Director-General (DG), Mr. Wale-Smatt Oyerinde, said rather than holding on to and promoting policies that have proven not to be effective within the context of the challenges, the government would do well to reappraise the monetary and fiscal policies to gauge their effectiveness and relevance.
He said a deliberate and transparent process of evaluating economic policies should be put in place, with the Organised Private Sector (OPS) who are critical stakeholders at the centre.
Noting the various interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Oyerinde averred that the deployed initiatives had the capacity to stimulate and drive the economy towards the path of sustained growth if the impediments were removed.
“These initiatives and policies comprise the exclusion and prohibition of about 47 items from eligibility to access FX on 23rd June 2015 and the introduction of the e-Form ‘A’ for Forex Online in July, 2021.
“Unfortunately, many of these interventions have not yielded the desired outcomes : enriching the flow of FX, reflating the economy and promoting enterprise competitiveness, Oyerinde said.
In view of the significant impact of the misalignment of the fiscal and monetary policies of the government, Oyerinde said it was important for the nation’s monetary and fiscal authorities to close ranks to reduce the contradictory tendencies of the policies for the good of the nation.
The NECA chief pointed out that, while the monetary policies aimed to reflate the economy through various interventions, the fiscal policies tended to stifle the productive sector by frequently introducing new taxes and levies. Examples include the telecoms excise tax; excise duty on carbonated drinks; beverage’s tax and the NYSC levy.
He said: “The introduction of these taxes and levies are an unfortunate addition to other anti-enterprise regulations. The multiplier effects of these would further hamper the purchasing power of the citizens, reduce capacity utilisation of enterprises and worsen the macroeconomic indices in the country.
“As a matter of urgency, there should be deliberate alignment of Monetary and Fiscal Policies. The process should involve the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) to enhance its credibility and effectiveness, while strict monitoring and enforcement should be ensured.”