The Nation Newspaper

Category: Industry

  • Why we developed sweetener technology, by FIRRO chief

    The Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) has developed a technology for commercial extraction and optimisation of high grade Thaumatin, a low calorie sweetener and flavour modifier.

    FIIRO Director-General, Gloria Elemo, said this midweek in Lagos during the International Conference on alternative sweeteners with the theme: “Harnessing of the economic potential of Thaumatin in Africa.”

    Thaumatin is a low-calorie protein sweetener and flavour modifier extracted from the fruit of a West African plant Thaumatococcus daniellii, and is totally natural with an intense sweetness.

    Elemo said the move was apt considering that the market for global high intensity sweetener, both natural and synthetic, was estimated at about 1.3 billion dollars in 2008 and was expected to quadruple by 2021.

    According to her, there is increasing large segment of the population with special dietary requirements containing non-nutritive sugar, such as the diabetic patients.

    She said attention had shifted to sourcing of alternative sweeteners, mainly non-nutritive phytochemicals, from plants toward bridging the gap between production and consumption of sweeteners, sweetening and flavour enhancers.

     

  • Govt records 12m rice farmers

    No fewer than 12 million Nigerians have gone into rice production, significantly reducing the rate of unemployment in two years.

    The impact of the Federal Government’s interventions in rice sector has resulted into job creation, increase in wealth, while reducing migration from rural to urban areas.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, who made this known, during the week, said as at July, the number of rice farmers has increased by 12 million.

    He spoke in Abuja, at the fourth Nigeria Rice Investment Forum on ‘Effective Linkage of Actor and Effort in the Value Chain for Sustained Self-Sufficiency in Rice Production.’

    The president, who was represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, said it was important to encourage more people into farming in order to attain self-sufficiency in rice production.

    The Rice Farmers Association (RIFAN) has five million members. The number of people working in the rice mills, small or big, is over 1.7 million. These include harvesters, loaders, off loaders, transporters, and distributors.

  • ‘Nigeria saves $3b from privatisation’

    The privatisation and commercialisation process was for the benefit of the country’s economic recovery and its citizenry’s wellbeing. The exercise freed $3 billion spent on public enterprises yearly.

    The savings from the process were in terms of subventions, waivers and unpaid taxes of public enterprises.

    The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh, made this known in a statement in Abuja, at the dinner/award night in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of ‘Reform, Commercialisation and Privatisation in Nigeria.’

    He said the private sector has been positioned through these reforms to become the engine room of economic activities and infrastructural development, while government focuses on governance and creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

    Okoh added that the programme was not designed to share the country’s national assets to a few rich people as erroneously believed.

    “We are not replacing public monopolies with private monopolies. Rather, in our determination to be unyielding and uncompromising in the pursuit of the best interest of this country, we are removing the financial burden, which these enterprises constitute on the public purse.

    “We are also releasing resources for the essential functions of government. This essentially was the mandate given to BPE to pursue this vision thereby contributing to the socio-economic development of Nigeria,” he clarified.

    According to him, a less known but very important aspect of the BPE programme with far reaching impact was the reform of sectors to provide the enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.

    He said the Bureau has initiated and executed far-reaching reforms in telecommunications, pensions, seaports, debt management and solid minerals.

    Most recently, it executed the power sector reform that led to the successful unbundling, privatisation and in some cases, concessioning of the successor companies created out of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

    The DG said the programme consisted of reform, commercialisation and privatisation in various sectors of the economy including aviation, development finance, postal sector, downstream oil and gas and other initiatives.

    “It also consists of major infrastructure areas like roads, railways, airports, national inland waterways and the special economic or free-trade zones,” he added.

    He said the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) and the BPE were pursuing the current transactions with renewed vigour, confidence and in a more responsible manner, adding that the BPE had a new vision for the future that was based on rediscovery and repositioning.

     

  • LCCI picks holes in Postal Commission Bill

    •’Over 100, 000 jobs, N300b investment at risk’

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has expressed reservations over the Nigeria Postal Commission Bill  before the National Assembly.

    A statement signed by LCCI Director- General Mr. Muda Yusuf said the bill was inimical to private sector investments in the courier business and a negation of the Ease of Doing Business agenda of the Federal Government.

    He also said the bill was not in consonance with the fundamental principles of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

    Yusuf said the LCCI was worried by the provisions in the bill, which imposed an annual levy of 2.5 per cent of the turnover of courier companies to be paid to the proposed Postal Services commission.

    He said the Chamber was also worried by the powers conferred on the proposed Postal Services Commission to fix rates for courier services.

    Yusuf added that the LCCI was also concerned with the monopoly privilege conferred on the Nigerian Postal Service for delivery of items weighing 1kg and below.

    According to him, the provisions were not consistent with the espoused commitment of the National Assembly to private sector development, which was affirmed by the Senate

    The LCCI boss regretted that the bill has been passed by the Senate, awaiting concurrence by the House of Representatives.  “We appeal that the progression of the bill be halted and the hurtful provisions expunged,” he said.

    He requested that the bill be urgently reviewed by the National Assembly in the interest of economic progress and the welfare of citizens.

    He argued that the passage of the bill in its current form will put over 100, 000 jobs in the courier sector at risk and jeopardize the over N300 billion investments in courier services business and further worsen the country’s risk rating.

    The LCCI boss warned that the country was already grappling with enormous perception problems by investors and that overregulation of any sector of the economy will not serve the best interest of the Nigerian economy. Rather, it will undermine the capacity of investors to create jobs.

    Yusuf listed specific areas of concern on the bill to include the requirement for licensees mainly of courier companies to contribute 2.5 per cent of turnover for the purpose of funding the proposed Nigeria Postal Service Commission.

    He explained that Section 39(2) (e) required licensees to contribute 2.5 per cent of their turnover to the Commission’s fund, but posited that this singular requirement will impose considerable burden on courier companies.

    He said: “This is outrageous, having regard to the numerous taxes and levies already being paid by the courier companies.

    “These include the company tax of 30 per cent, Value Added Tax (VAT), education tax, airport charges, Federal Airport Authority (FAAN) charges, and other taxes imposed by the states of the federation, local government charges, signage fees of various states, etc.”

    Yusuf reiterated that the bill was not in consonance with the current Ease of Doing Business agenda of government, neither was it in tune with the letters and spirit of the ERGP, which seeks to promote and incentivise private sector investment.

    He said the bill proposes that courier companies shall not charge any rates or tariffs unless approved by the Commission, while Section 17(2) criminalises charging rates not approved by the Commission.

    Yusuf reiterated that the provision was a complete negation of the key principles of private enterprise, which the ERGP was seeking to promote.

    According to him, this would amount to an overregulation, which should not happen. He added that courier service was not a social service but a business, which should allow for each player to design its business model for survival and sustainability.

    Continuing, Yusuf stated that social services such as education and health services offered by private providers are not subjected to such an overbearing pricing legislation.

    He said the best way to protect consumers is to ensure a virile competitive environment among service providers, not by fixing rates.

    Yusuf argued that rate fixing for courier companies was not only counterproductive, but will also stifle investment in the sector and give very adverse signals to potential investors in the economy.

  • Driving diversification from free zones

    The oil and gas free zones have so far attracted over $20 billion in foreign direct investments and generated over 100, 000 direct and indirect jobs. The scheme may have become a strategic and viable tool for driving diversification and creating jobs. But experts believe Nigeria can derive more benefits from the zones, if the National Assembly expedites action on the ongoing amendment of the 1996 Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority Act. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    When the Federal Government established the oil and gas free zones (OGFZs) in 1996, they were acknowledged as a strategic move consistent with the national aspiration to diversify the economy through the promotion of non-oil exports.

    It was expected that the scheme, if optimally operated and run according to global best practices, would ultimately, reduce the nation’s excessive dependence on crude oil as a major foreign exchange earner.

    The expectation was justified. For one, many of the world’s hydrocarbon-based economies like Nigeria are diversifying and cutting their dependence on oil and gas as revenue earners, mainly because of depleting natural resources and the instability in the international oil commodity market.

    Consequently, governments the world over are increasingly identifying free zones as veritable tool to diversify their economies and fast track industrialisation. Besides, the move bodes well with local and foreign investors looking for jurisdictions where they would save cost and maximise returns on investment.

    Partly because of the bespoke incentives and enabling environment offered to businesses that operate in oil and gas free zones, the zones are identified as investors’haven capable of attracting the much-need Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), generating employment, and boosting trade and industrialisation.

    According to experts, a free zone is a specially designated enclave, clearly delineated and administratively considered to be outside the customs territory of the host country, having special regulatory and fiscal incentive regimes to enhance its competitiveness.

    It operates against the background of highly efficient infrastructural facilities, less bureaucracy and streamlined one-stop-shop operational procedures. The OGFZs are expected to function as launch pad to Nigeria’s economic growth and development by encouraging the transfer of new skills and technical know-how to Nigerians.

    This was why the Federal Government established the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA), through the promulgation of Decree No, 8 of March 29, 1996. The authority was charged with registering, licensing and regulating oil & gas free zones in Nigeria.

    Twenty-two years down the line, has Nigeria derived full benefits from an optimally-operated oil and gas free zones, run according to global best practices? Has Africa’s largest oil producer’s economic diversification programme, through investment in infrastructure organised into free zone clusters, paid off?

    Also, to what extent has the OGFZs under OGFZA’s administration contributed to the promotion of non-oil exports and to the national economy generally?

    Although unnecessary ambiguity in the law, which created OGFZA, is said to have hampered the optimal development of the oil and gas free zones in the country and denied Nigeria the full benefits derivable therein, the overall evaluation by experts and stakeholders is that the strategy has paid off.

    According to them, the OGFZs have proven to be veritable vehicle for the attraction and retention of FDIs and creation of jobs.

    For instance, the OGFZA Act of 1996, which created the nation’s first OGFZ in Onne, Rivers State, has so far attracted more than $20 billion in FDIs and generated more than 100, 000 direct and indirect jobs.

    The premier OGFZ is also said to have spawned other oil and gas free zones in different parts of the country, even as the nation has also benefited from the OGFZs in the acquisition of new skills and transfer of technology.

    The Nation learnt that the Federal Government’s move to have OGFZA as a regulator has resulted in the birth of many entities operating in these OGFZs and leveraging their wide range of opportunities and incentives created by the government.

    The OGFZA working with the Nigerian Content Development and Management Board(NCDMB) is also said to have emphasised the imperativeness of local content all through the value chain.

     

    Policy reforms change

    the narrative

    Much of the significant contributions of the OGFZs to the national economy are the result of deliberate policy reforms under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

    For instance, the Managing Director/CEO of OGFZA, Mr. Umana Okon Umana, said the administration’s Ease of Doing Business initiative created a better enabling environment for businesses to make more contributions to the national economy through the OGFZs.

    He added that the initiative has restored confidence among foreign investors in Nigeria as an investment destination. This, according to him, was evident in the report by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) under the Office of the Vice President that the nation has attracted $84 billion in FDIs in the last 18 months.

    The OGFZA boss made these known at the 2018 Oil and Gas Forum hosted by the Institute of Oil & Gas Research and Hydrocarbon Studies, in Lagos, recently. Its theme was: Oil and gas product manufacturing: Prospects, challenges and progress.

    Umana in his presentation titled: Oil & Gas product manufacturing: Understanding the importance of oil and gas free zones”said the special operating environment put in place in the free zones was meant to incentivise the use of the zones as manufacturing hub for economic diversification.

    He listed some of the bespoke incentives the OGFZA offers to businesses that operate in the free zones to include exemption from all forms of taxation, including federal, state and local government taxes; exemption from expatriate quota policy applicable in the customs territory.

    Other incentives include exemption from customs duty on imports for value-added production; express processing of entry visas; the most expeditious clearance of cargoes; express processing of entry paperwork through the one-stop-shop policy and a host of other incentives.

    While reiterating that OGFZs have, without doubt, been key drivers of improved confidence in the economy, Umana stated that the Authority, working within the new policy environment, instituted a regime of efficiency in the free zones through automation and review of procedures.

    According to him, these have led to significant cost savings and improvements in timelines for operations. The changes in the operating environment in the free zones have also seen commitments in new investments valued at more than $8 billion in future.

    Umana also announced that many projects were coming up in free zone development, besides the ones already contributing across the value chain—including manufacturing, skill acquisition, technology transfer and job creation.

    He said the most important of the new projects is the Brass Oil and Gas City (BOG City), located on Brass Island, Bayelsa State.  “The BOG City is licensed and will soon start operation. More than $3.5 billion investments are already committed to the project.

    “BOG City is designed to evolve into a world class export-oriented and gas processing hub with the potential to generate up to 20,000 new jobs,” he said.

    He said another important new project is the Notore Industrial City located in the Onne-Ikpokri Oil and Gas Free Zone in Rivers State.

    Notore Industrial City, which was granted a Free Zone Developer Licenced by OGFZA in November last year, has the potential to make Nigeria a continental hub in gas processing and petrochemicals.

    “The new free zone is to attract $5 billion in new investments and generate 15, 000 new jobs, Umana announced, listing other companies contributing across the value chain to include Indorama-Eleme Petrochemicals Company Limited, Tenaris Company Limited, and TechnipFMC Limited, etc.’’

     

    In other lands

    Despite the modest contributions of the OGFZs to diversification and overall economic growth and development, Nigeria has a lot to learn from other countries’ model of economic diversification anchored on the use of OGFZs.

    For instance, Saudi Arabia is pursuing a vigorous national economic diversification programme to reduce its dependence on oil by optimising the use of its OGFZs. As at last year, the non-oil sector of the kingdom’s economy accounted for 38 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    The case for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is, perhaps, more dramatic. Diversification of the economy of the UAE started in the 1980s, and centred on trade and the creation of shipping and logistics centres in Port Rashid and the port and free zone in Jebel Ali as well as Dubai International Airport.

    From near total dependence on oil and gas as engine of growth of its economy in the 1970s, the UAE as at 2017 relied on non-hydrocarbon sources for 70 per cent of its economy.

    This followed a very successful diversification programme, through investment in infrastructure organised into free zone clusters. Encouraged by this feat, the UAE Ministry of Economy has predicted that this figure will increase to 80 per cent of GDP by 2021.

    According to industry experts, much of the diversification success in the UAE is driven by its investment in free zones. The Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai, the economic hub of the UAE, is said to be home to over 5, 000 firms, creating many more thousands of jobs.

    The economy of the UAE is the most open in the world, with an Ease-of-Doing-Business rating of 21 in 2018. Although Nigerian OGFZs are in the forefront of the implementation of the Federal Government policy on the Ease of Doing Business, the consensus is that sustainability of the tempo is imperative.

    More importantly, Umana and indeed, other industry experts argue that because of the ambiguity in 1996 Oil and Gas Free Zones Act number 8, which created OGFZA, there is need to expedite action on the ongoing amendment of the OGFZA principal Act at the National Assembly.

    The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, declared recently that the government will continue to support OGFZA and investors in the OGFZs because they are the economy’s growth engine.

    However, the thinking of not a few industry stakeholders is that such support should perhaps, begin with the amendment of the OGFZA Act and the provision of critical infrastructure in the OGFZs across the country.

  • UNIDO, EIB collaborate

    To position industries in Nigeria and other African countries to further attract investments and more diverse markets in Europe and Africa itself, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) co-hosted the EIB’s annual Africa Day in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

    The event, which held during the week, gathered chief executives, financial officers, government representatives, entrepreneurs, academics, non-governmental groups and civil society leaders from Africa and Europe and offered them a platform to build new partnerships, reinforce old ones and find new ways to help the continent.

    Key to the discussions at the event was how to offer more job creating opportunities for young people and women – particularly in the field of entrepreneurship, with senior members of the Ethiopian Government joining experts and policymakers from across Africa and Europe to lead discussions on opportunities for growth and diversification.

    They also explored ways to break down barriers and support the inclusive industrialisation of Africa.

     

  • Chamber, Facebook train over 50 SMEs

    The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), in collaboration with Facebook and Digivate 360, has trained over 50 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on growing their businesses by leveraging the digital media.

    The training, which was held in Lagos, drew participants from various sectors of the SME value chain.

    NACC Communications Executive Ebuka Ugochukwu said the training became imperative because SMEs are the backbone of the economic growth.

    “We have come to understand that SMEs are the backbone of any economy. We do expect that as these businesses grow, they will be able to contribute more to the economy and leverage the connections and opportunities that we provide them to scale up,” he said.

    Ugochukwu recalled that when Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg visited Nigeria in 2016, one of his objectives was to try to see how Facebook could empower SMEs in the country.

    According to him, that objective resonated with the Chamber’s commitment to empowering businesses with digital skills to grow, manage their brand and increase revenue.

    Ugochukwu said NACC stands out as a pillar of the relationship between the United States of America and Nigeria, while also supporting bilateral commercial relations between Nigeria and the United States

    “We organise other trainings and events, one of which is a monthly breakfast meeting, where participants are exposed to networking and creating new business connections for the growth of their enterprises,” he added.

    NACC has continued to facilitate business-to-business relationships and advanced economic cooperation between Nigeria and the United States through the promotion of business and services that improve trade relations and prosperity of both nations.

    The Chamber is also committed to providing programs and services that improve economic prosperity and sustainability of businesses in the country.

     

     

  • ‘Give consumers value for money’

    Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Director-General (DG) Osita Aboloma has  urged Guinness Nigeria Plc to ensure that consumers get value for money while also ensuring their safety.

    He spoke after a facility tour of Guinness Breweries factory in Ogba, Lagos.

    Aboloma reminded the company of SON’s presence at all times to ensure diligent implementation and enforcement of standards in the collective interest of consumers, manufacturers and the nation’s economic development.

    He acknowledged the company as one of the largest and renowned standards bearers in the manufacture of alcoholic, non-alcoholic beverage and spirits in the African continent. According to him, the company’s adherence to good manufacturing practices was exemplified by the successful certification of 24 of its products to the SON Mandatory Conformity Assessment Scheme (MANCAP) to provide assurance to consumers and guarantee compliance with the relevant standards.

    Aboloma commended the company’s consistency in maintaining its certification to the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Standards (ISO 14001), describing it as a proud ambassador of products and systems quality.

    The  DG  asked Guinness  not to relent in providing technical and institutional support for standards development and harmonisation in Nigeria and across the African continent through active participation in working group and technical committee meetings.

    Welcoming the SON team, Guinness Managing Director/Chief Executive, Baker Magunda, acknowledged the invaluable support and guidance of SON to the company over many decades, in ensuring the steady growth and expansion of its equity through diligent standards application and promotion of international best practices.

    He reiterated the company’s commitment to continual improvement in its products and service offerings, stressing that Guinness Nigeria cherishes its partnership with SON and other regulatory agencies.

    Also addressing the SON delegation, Director, Corporate Relations, Mrs. Viola Graham-Douglas, went down memory lane on the establishment of the first Guinness brewery in Nigeria, stating that Nigeria is the largest stout market in the world after Ireland.

    She commended SON for its efforts in ensuring the ease of doing business through the automation of its processes, especially relating to products and management systems certifications.

    The SON team was conducted round the brewery facility by Messrs. Hanna Colman, Supply Chain Director, Kingsley Imade, Site Director, Ogba Brewery and Miss Mojisola Akpata, Head, Trade Regulatory and Government Affairs.

     

  • Experts proffer ways to achieve economic growth

    Nigeria can grow its economy by embracing technology, promoting local content and industrialisation, some experts have said.

    They spoke at the celebration of this year’s African Industrialisation Day, with the theme: “Promoting regional value chains in Africa: A pathway for accelerating Africa’s structural transformation, industrialisation and pharmaceutical production”.

    The day was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989 to enable African governments to examine ways to stimulate industrialisation process and draw worldwide media attention to the problems of industrialisation on the continent.

    The International Institute for Training, Research and Economic Development (IITRED) President, Mr. Sani Dawop, said inclusive industrialisation could take place in the country when local products were given priority.

    He asked the government to insist that whatever is used within the purview of government is locally made. He said when that is done, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) will follow suit.

    He said: “In doing that, government should also ensure that procurement from MDAs is from local manufacturers because government is the highest spender. Except where we do not have local manufacturers on a product, then we can import.

    ‘’We should be able to bring our engineers together, support them with funds and encourage researchers to come up with innovations in different areas of development.

    “When we have the resources, we put together these resources at highly tolerable interest rate where entrepreneurs, investors, manufacturers can access these funds because the cost of fund must be cheap.”

    According to Dawop, the economy depends on what the government buys, so if the government continues to buy imported goods then the economy will not grow.

    He said though the Federal Government had, earlier in the year, signed the Executive Orders to promote local content, especially among MDAs, monitoring and evaluating those policies were needed to ensure implementation.

    Former Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, said dependence on oil was no longer sustainable and Nigeria is now living in a post oil industrial economy.

    “New technologies are taking over from oil. Many developed economies have put a dateline to all manufacturers of automobiles to move from petrol to electro cars.

    “Nearly 70 per cent consumption of petrol is automobiles and that age has come to an end. We have to embrace industrialisation, technology which is the only way we can absorb millions of young people that are unemployed,” he said.

    According to him, oil accounts only for 10 per cent of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but paradoxically accounts for over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign earnings and over 50 per cent of government revenue.

    Mailafia, however, observed that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that drive industrialisation were gaining low support from the government.

    He said business environment for SMEs was harsh, as they have no easy access to loans as well as internal challenges of lack of skills.

    The economist called on the government to place premium on supporting the Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (MSME) sector because it would foster development in the country.

     

  • Agbakoba seeks fiscal policy to revamp economy

    Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president Dr. Olisa Agbakoba has called for the introduction of vibrant fiscal, trade and monetary policies to boost the economy.

    He made the appeal at an interactive session with reporters on “Practical solutions to some of Nigeria’s economic challenges,” during the week.

    Agbakoba said the first step in healing any ailing economy is a diagnosis of its main problems, before workable solutions are proffered.

    He noted that although Nigeria had experienced economic setbacks over the years, “there was no time to lament but to chart a clear economic policy direction, which will give value to the economy”.

    On monetary policy, Agbakoba underscored the need for harmonisation between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy, and the Minister of Finance’s call for increased public spending on capital projects.

    “Note that the CBN increased the MPR by 200 basis points, from 12 per cent to 14 per cent, to combat inflation and stimulate growth.

    “The MPR is the anchor rate at which the CBN in performing its role as lender of last resort lends to Deposit Money Banks, to boost the level of liquidity in the banking system.

    “If the apex bank intends to increase the level of liquidity in the economy, it reduces the MPR, but increases it when it intends to tighten money supply and by tightening MPR, it has, unfortunately, tightened lending,” he said.

    According to Agbakoba, the banking sector requires strengthening, and must be empowered to lend.

    “I recommend that money from the Treasury Single Account should go back to the banks at single digit rates, and that bank’s recommended lending rates should not exceed five per cent.

    “I feel that the CBN should focus on productive value of the economy and not the numerical value of the Naira; the recent devaluation of the Naira by introduction of a floating Naira exchange rate has not yielded positive results as we see the Naira spiralling downward,” he said.

    He said in proffering a solution to this, the government’s monetary policy will be required to move from strict monetarism of the “Mitton Friedman School of thought to the Keynesian Model”.

    Agbakoba expressed optimism that the nation can recover from recession. He recommended for a start, the need for a presidential proclamation at the National Assembly, switching from austerity policy to growth policy.

    He said this would instil hope and form the basis for a way forward.