Category: Industry

Eleven persons have joined the ranks of millionaires as they received dummy cheques of N1 million being their star prizes in the ongoing Dangote Cement Bag of Goodies Season 2 Promo. They were presented with the prizes at a ceremony held in Ikorodu, Lagos State, during the week.

The new millionaires included block makers, bricklayers, labourers, building contractors and tilers.

A winner, Victor Amaa, a tiler, commended the management of Dangote Cement for the promo. He stated that he had been using Dangote Cement for years and always recommended the brand to his customers.

Explaining how he was able to gather the cards and successfully spelt ‘Dangote,’ Amaa said that he had been picking and storing the cards.

For a building contractor, Thaddeus Ohadiro, the star prize of N1 million came as an incentive to continue to use Dangote Cement in his work.

He said Dangote Cement is of good quality and suitable for construction. He praised the management of the company for the transparency of the promo. Regional Sales Director, Lagos/Ogun, Dangote Cement Plc, Tunde Mabogunje, who welcomed guests and winners to the ceremony, described the promo as one of the biggest and most impactful in the economy given that 1,000 winners would received N1 million each.

The star prize, he said, was enough to kick start a business that would change the economic standards of the winners. He explained that 1,000 families would have been lifted out of poverty when the promo is concluded.

Marketing Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Mrs. Funmi Sanni, said the promo was aimed at rewarding its customers who had, with their patronage, made Dangote Cement the number one product in the country.

She stated that there was no better way to appreciate them than the cash reward.

Mrs. Sanni said: “The beautiful thing about the promo is that the new Dangote Cement millionaires can win again and win. There is no limit to the number of times they are expected to win. So, my advice is that they should keep on buying Dangote Cement and keep on winning,” she said.

Aside winning N1 million, Mrs Sanni said consumers also stood a chance of winning tricycles, motorcycles, television sets, refrigerators, Dangote Food Goodies packs, recharge cards and other gifts.

To be a part of the promotion, she explained: “All the consumer needs to do is to buy any promo bag of Dangote Cement during promo period, pick out the scratch card inserted in the bag, scratch open the inserted card to see what you have won, and go to the nearest redemption center to collect your prize.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has removed third parties or middlemen from its Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) forex window through Form M forex purchases. But, the policy does not go down well with manufacturers, who argue that it is inimical to the survival of manufacturing concerns and should, therefore, be reversed. CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

Real sector operators, particularly manufacturers, are literarily up in arms against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over its recent policy that removed buying agents/firms or any third parties from accessing its Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) forex window through Form M forex purchases.

The aggrieved manufacturers argued that the policy, which effectively eliminated third parties or middlemen from transacting in forex deals in its official SMIS window, was inimical to the survival of many manufacturing concerns and should be reversed in the interest of the manufacturing sector and the economy in general.

CBN, in a circular dated Monday, August 24, 2020, instructed that ”Authorised dealers are hereby directed to desist from opening of Form M, whose payment is routed through a buying company/agent or any other third parties.”

The apex bank explained that its decision was based on the need to ”Ensure prudent use of our foreign exchange resources and eliminate incidences of over invoicing, transfer pricing, double handling charges, and avoidable costs that are ultimately passed to the average Nigerian consumers”.

It also instructed authorised dealers to only open Form M for letters of credit, bills for collection, and other forms of payments in favour of the ultimate supplier of the product or service.

However, the policy does not go down well with manufacturers. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) said while it acknowledges the good intention of the bank, the impact of such decision will be inimical to the survival of many manufacturing concerns that are not involved in any unethical practices.

MAN said this is so especially at a time when the nation is implementing gradual ease on lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic.

“We believe that this additional hamstring on the economy is likely to erode the recent improved performance on the ease of doing business ranking,” MAN President Mansur Ahmed said, in a statement obtained by The Nation, last week.

Given more details of its opposition against the perceived obnoxious policy, MAN drew the attention of the apex bank to the fact that most manufacturers, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), deal with accredited agents for their supplies as many Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) abroad do not sell directly to individual buyers.

“Furthermore, it is in line with global best practice for OEMs and large international manufacturing companies operating in multiple countries and with sourcing needs in various jurisdictions to leverage on the economics of scale to secure lower prices through centralised procurement.

“In Nigeria, central procurement plays a critical role in the production process; an absence of same will hamper manufacturers operating in the country and may result in factory shutdowns,” Ahmed said.

He stated that in the absence of a global procurement agency, most companies would not have access to the final suppliers, who consider the inherent country risks a disincentive for trading directly with firms in Nigeria.

“The procurement agencies have provided a vital interface between the final suppliers and the manufacturers and allows same extended payment timelines by granting credit in periods of foreign currency scarcity,” he pointed out.

It is pertinent to point out, Ahmed said, that many companies have gone into contractual agreements via the procurement agencies for the 2020 financial year and in some cases beyond.

According to him, default on these contractual obligations may result in expensive lawsuits across jurisdictions, bring disruptions to the production process and further undermine the resilience of the manufacturing sector.

“Consequently, the multiplier effect on the economy will be reduction in productivity; loss in business revenue; supply chain disruption and, ultimately, loss of employment,” the MAN president argued.

He, however, recommended that if the CBN is of the view that the audit of the activities of a central procurement agency in terms of price verification is impossible, a phased approach should be adopted to the elimination of their use in Nigeria.

His words: “This will enable companies have sufficient time to re-organise and build the required relationships with original suppliers which they do not currently have.”

Similarly, to checkmate abuse, MAN said the apex bank can put in place a monitoring mechanism to ensure that unverifiable claims by some manufacturers are identified and dealt with accordingly rather than stifle the business of genuine manufacturers whose interest and commitment is to grow the economy.

“Given the prevailing extremely stressful operating environment our fragile manufacturing sector is contending with, the implementation of this new directive is like hammering the last nail on the coffin of many of our ailing members,’’ he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the oil price crash have thrown Nigeria into unprecedented fiscal crisis. However, the battle to shore up government revenue through tax reforms appears promising. Seventy per cent (about N500 billion) of last month’s statutory revenue allocation from the Federation Accounts came from tax revenue. This, according to experts, is an indication that the Federal Government’s fiscal diversification campaign, which involves increasing tax revenue from the non-oil sector, is on course, despite outcry against tax increase. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

 

Even before the considerable pressure foisted on the economy and finance by the double shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the oil price crash, certain strategic actions taken by the Federal Government had, somewhat, prepared Nigeria to weather the storm, at least, to some extent.

One of the strategies that may have proved potent in fixing its economic and financial woes and also gave fresh impetus to the fiscal diversification campaign was, perhaps, the signing of the Finance Bill, 2019 (now Finance Act) into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, January 13, 2020.

The Finance Act introduced one of the most significant changes in Nigeria’s tax law over the last two decades. For instance, it increased the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate from five per cent to 7.5 per cent, in addition to changes to other tax laws.

The Act, which, essentially, sought to reform the domestic tax regime, contains 57 sections and amended seven federal tax laws – the Companies Income Tax Act (CITA), Petroleum Profits Tax Act (PPTA), Personal Income Tax Act (PITA), Capital Gains Tax Act (CGTA), Value Added Tax Act (VATA), Customs and Excise Tariff Etc. (Consolidation) Act (CETA) and Stamp Duties Act (SDA).

During the signing, Buhari explained on his verified Twitter handle: “We introduced the bill alongside the 2020 budget, to reform Nigeria’s tax laws to align with global best practices, support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in line with our ease of doing business reforms, incentivise investments in infrastructure and capital markets and raise government revenues.”

Indeed, it was the first time since the return of democracy in 1999 that a federal budget was accompanied by the passage of a Finance Bill into law, specially designed to support its implementation and to create a truly enabling environment for business and investment by the private sector.

Apart from increasing the VAT rate from five per cent to 7.5 per cent, the Act also introduced a N25 million VAT compliance threshold, exempted companies with less than N25 million yearly turnover from payment of CIT, and expanded the scope of companies taxable in Nigeria to include those  that operate within the digital space, among others.

Also, the Finance Act requires a tax identification number for opening of bank accounts or continued operation of existing bank account; provision of exceptions for the application of excess dividend tax under Section 19 of the CIT Act; and imposition of excise on certain imported products.

For PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC Nigeria), the amendment of ambiguous and outdated provisions in the principal federal tax laws was one of the major achievements of the Finance Act 2019.

The firm pointed out that before the passage of the Finance Act 2019 into law, certain ambiguous provisions of the tax laws were subjects of litigation before different courts and tribunals across the country, but the Act introduced changes to those provisions to bring sanity to the law and provide certainty to taxpayers.

PwC, in its recent “Tax Controversy & Dispute Resolution (TCDR) Insight Series” looked at ambiguous provisions in four  federal tax laws pre-Finance Act 2019, highlighted some of the implications of these provisions, discussed the related case law and the changes introduced by Finance Act 2019 to cure the ambiguities in the laws. The four federal tax laws include CITA, PITA, VATA, and SDA.

For instance, Section 19 of CITA imposed a tax referred to as Excess Dividend Tax (EDT). According to PwC’s analysis, a literal construction of Section 19 of CITA suggested that where a company pays dividends, which exceed its total profits, it would be subject to an additional tax of 30 per cent on the excess dividends it distributes, as though they were profits.

“The literal application of Section 19 meant that companies which fail within the ambit of the section were potentially exposed to a total tax charge of 62 per cent,” PwC’s tax expert and lead author of the report, Taiwo Oyedele said, pointing out that there were other problems with applying Section 19 literarily.

He said, for instance, that Section 19 of the Act does not consider circumstances where a company pays out dividends from its retained earnings (profits which have suffered tax in prior years), or companies which earn tax exempt income (such as income from government bonds and treasury bills) and have no taxable profits but pay dividends from the exempt income.

Noting that disputes arising from Section 19 of the CITA are before the Supreme Court, with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) winning all through the lower courts, the report co-authored by PwC’s Folajimi Akinla said the Finance Act 2019, interestingly, addressed the shortcomings of applying Section 19 literally.

For instance, Section 7 of the Act exempts from EDT the following categories: dividends paid from retained earnings which have been subject to tax under any of the income tax laws; dividends from exempt profits; franked investment income including distributions from real estate investment companies to its holders.

Other ambiguous provisions in the other three federal tax laws identified by PwC, but resolved by the Finance Act 2019 include taxation of gratuities in Third Schedule to PITA; definition of “imported services” in Section 2 of VATA.

There is also registration of non-resident companies in Section 10 of VAT Act; definition of “goods” and “services” in Section 46 of VATA; definition of exported services in Section 46 of VATA.

The report also said the provision for duty on receipts in Section 89 of the pre-Financial Act 2019 Stamp Duties Act (SDA), which imposed a duty of N1.50 on any receipt for money, bill of exchange or promissory note of a sum not exceeding N40, was ambiguous.

“The amendments are far-reaching given the way and manner Section 19 had been previously interpreted. Now, from a tax perspective, multinationals and domestic companies can set up holding companies in Nigeria without the fear of a potential 62 per cent tax charge.

“In addition, other laws such as the Exemption Order can now, considering their objectives, be given full effect and are no longer rendered redundant by the operations of Section 7,” the report, which was made available to The Nation, said.

Concluding, PwC observed that many of the disputes arising from the tax laws were caused by inelegant drafting, which resulted in ambiguities, while others arose because of outdated provisions of the law.

It, however, pointed out: “With the Federal Government committing to annual reviews of the laws, it is expected that similar disputes can be avoided.”

 

Tracking the gains of tax reforms

Last week, Presidency Buhari listed the signing of the Finance Bill into law as one of his administration’s achievements in the last one year after being re-elected in 2019.

This was hardly unexpected. Considering  that the 2020 Budget relied on the Finance Act for its implementation, the Act should enable the Federal Government increase tax revenue from VAT, stamp duties and the expanded scope of excise tax, among other sources.

And it did. For instance, the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Muhammad Nami, last week, in Abuja, said earnings from taxation accounted for 70 per cent of the monthly statutory revenue allocation from the Federation Accounts in July.

The FIRS boss spoke when he appeared in a television programme as part of his national public enlightenment on voluntary tax compliance. Listen to him: “During the FAAC (Federal Accounts Allocation Committee) meeting in July, the total amount shared among the three tiers of government – federal, states and local – was N696 billion.

“From this amount, only 30 per cent came from revenue generating-agencies like the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). The remaining 70 per cent, which is almost N500 billion, came from tax revenues paid by the various tax payers, including stamp duty.”

While noting that with the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on other sources of government revenue, tax has been keeping the Nigerian economy going, Nami, therefore, urged Nigerians and corporate organisations to continue to fulfill their obligations by paying their taxes as and when due.

The FIRS Chairman, however, pointed out that there was nothing new about the recent introduction of stamp duty, as bankable Nigerians have been paying the duty on cheque books since the policy was introduced in 1939.

Nami said the renewed focus on stamp duty via the launch of an inter-ministerial committee on the recovery of stamp duty from 2016 till date has started to yield dividends. His words: “Before now, remittance from stamps used to be an average of about N17 billion and N18 billion per year. Currently, it is in the region of N80 billion.”

He also revealed that a commercial bank, which has not been remitting stamp duty to the government before, brought in about N1.2 billion in July alone.

 

Pioneer tax relief is sore point

While the tax reforms have resulted in increased revenue to the government, the alleged systemic abuse of the pioneer incentive scheme instituted by the Federal Government, according to the FIRS, has led to tax revenue leakages for the three tiers of government.

The Pioneer Status Incentive (PSI) is a tax holiday that grants qualifying industries and products relief from the payment of corporate income tax for an initial period of three years, extendable for one or two  more years, thus allowing the firms to get established.

The incentive is also known as tax holiday and it is regarded as an industrial measure aimed at stimulating investments into the economy. The products or companies suitable for this pioneer status are industries or products that do not already exist in the country; the existing industries do not meet the required needs.

Although the approval of new industries and products for pioneer status incentive is seen as a positive development, allegations of abuse of the incentive by companies in Nigeria are rife, with Nami lamenting that indiscriminate tax waivers and incentives granted to undeserving companies have impacted negatively on revenue generation.

According to him, pioneer status certificates had been issued to companies that were not pioneers of their fields in the real sense, hence undeserving of such status. This, he stated, has led to loss of considerable tax revenue to the three tiers of government.

The FIRS boss, however, said the agency was auditing its findings with a view to pressing for the cancellation of pioneer certificates issued to undeserving companies in violation of the law.

He said pioneer status otherwise granted outside the law would not enjoy tax relief regardless of the certificate issued to them and owners of such certificates were requested to regularise their tax positions otherwise sanctions shall apply in accordance with the law

Nigeria is endowed with huge, but largely untapped deposits of precious metals, particularly gold. But, activities across the gold value chain are dominated by informal and illegal miners, mostly foreigners. Their illegal trade in gold denies the government of huge revenue from royalty estimated at $500 million yearly, and hurts efforts at job creation. However, the narrative is being reversed. This is on the strength of measures put in place by the Federal Government to optimise the mineral value chain and, ultimately, diversify the economy, create jobs and increase revenue. Assistant CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

 

Nigeria may have positioned herself as the new bride of the international mining community, especially those desirous of taking advantage of her nature-endowed deposits of precious metals, particularly gold.

And it took the 2019 launch of the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative (PAGMI) by President Muhammadu Buhari to set the stage for the gradual emergence as a global gold producing and exporting hub capable of attracting genuine and discerning local and foreign investors.

PAGMI is a comprehensive artisanal and small-scale gold mining development programme. It seeks to streamline the solid minerals value chain largely dominated by foreign middlemen.

The game-changing initiative regulates the mining, processing and refining of precious metals, especially gold, by informal miners whose activities are said to be undermining the Federal Government’s efforts at leveraging mining to diversify the economy, create jobs and increase revenue.

Indeed, until recently, Nigeria had, evidently, been holding the short end of the stick on mining, processing and refining of precious metals.

Huge revenue that are supposed to accrue to the Federal Government in the form of royalty payments for gold mining end up in the pockets of illegal miners, leaving the country ruing the estimated loss of $500 million to illegal gold exports annually, including the loss of thousands of jobs for Nigerians.

PAGMI Executive Secretary Fatima Shinkafi recently brought the reality of the illegal export trade in gold nearer home when she said as much as 18 tons of gold is illegally shipped to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from Nigeria yearly.

She, therefore, underscored the need for the PAGMI, noting that the programme was aimed at regulating artisanal gold mining. This, according to her, would help diversify the economy at a time lower crude prices are putting enormous fiscal pressure on the government.

The icing on the cake of the programme is the fact that it allows the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to purchase and stockpile gold for use as a reserve instrument.This means that the CBN will be purchasing gold that has been mined, processed and refined under the PAGMI for use as part of Nigeria’s external reserves.

The Nation learnt that on July 16, the first batch of artisanally-mined gold bars to be purchased by the CBN was unveiled at a reception to President Buhari.

The gold bars were processed and refined according to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) standards for the use of gold as a reserve instrument by the apex bank. The LBMA, according to experts, sets the stringent criteria that enable the global trade in gold and silver bars. It is the de facto standard trusted around the world.

However, riding on the crest of international standards to place Nigeria on the map of gold-producing and exporting countries was not happenstance. The milestone was the culmination of 24 months of intense efforts by his ministry, through the Solid Minerals Development Fund, Kebbi and Osun State governments, Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, under a Steering Committee led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.

The Minister for Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, who spoke at the ceremony, said it was a demonstration of Buhari’s commitment to diversifying Nigeria’s economy and foreign reserves. He said the launch of PAGMI in 2019 was to foster the formalisation and integration of artisanal gold mining into Nigeria’s legal, economic, and institutional framework.

The minister added that the programme was designed to integrate social, environmental, health and safety, economic, commercial, and technical considerations into its implementation.

 

Opening the upstream, downstream gold sector

The formalisation and integration of artisanal gold mining is not the only strategic measure put in place by the ministry under Adegbite’s charge to optimise the mineral value chain. Even before the PAGMI came on stream, the ministry is said to have articulated a robust framework for the development of the upstream and downstream segment of the gold sector.

For instance, to derive immense benefits from the upstream sector, which deals with exploration, production and refining of gold, Thor Exploration, a Canadian company, was granted a licence to mine gold  through the Segilola Gold Project in Ogun State.

The Segilola Gold Project comprises a proposed open pit gold mining, based on an indicated mineral resource defined by a comprehensive drilling programme. It is expected to process 650, 000 tons of ore, with a target production of 80, 000 ounces yearly from 2021.

At the project’s block laying, Adegbite dangled the proverbial carrot in the form of waivers on equipment and taxes to major investors willing to come in the sector. He has also never looked back in ensuring that the two firms granted licences to refine gold in Nigeria to London Bullion Standard come on stream. They are Dukia Gold and Kian Smith.

Both firms, according to the minister, will procure gold from the Segilola Gold project by Thor Exploration, as well as from artisanal and small scale miners, refining them to meet international standard. Some of this gold would be traded on the bullion trading platform where the CBN and investors both local and international would be the offtakers.

The downstream sector is not left out. The ministry has created buying centres where gold can be traded. For instance, the Dukia, Heritage Bank Buying Centere was recently launched, with the minister noting that it would help solidify the gold ecosystem.

Adegbite said: “This initiative will bring about efficiency and transparency to physical trading and transactions of mineral commodities, resulting in accurate mineral data aggregation and reporting.”

Those are not the only benefits of the arrangement. The minister said: “Buying centres with minimum guaranteed price thresholds also ensure that artisanal miners receive the right pricing for their goods relative to illegal off takers, thus breaking the status quo of illegal mining and increasing the royalty revenue accrual to the Federal Government.”

The Nation learnt that there are over 400 licensed mineral buying centres nationwide for precious and metallic minerals, such as gold, lead zinc, tin, and columbite.

The Chief Executive Officer/President, Thor Exploration Limited, Segun Lawson, said the project, which is  under construction, is projected to start producing in the first half of next year, and it will provide over 400 direct jobs, 1,000 indirect jobs and revenue to the country.

“Most importantly, I think it would demonstrate to the international mining community that a large scale metals mining project can be successful developed and implemented in Nigeria. This will be very important in opening up the mining sector in Nigeria,” Lawson told The Nation.

Thanking the minister for being “Very supportive in helping us successfully navigate through the project’s development process,’’ Lawson said a gold ecosystem will provide opportunities for investors, while also providing a more integrated supply chain.

The Managing Director of Dukia Gold & Precious Metals Refining Company Limited, Bose Owolabi, could not agree less with Lawson. She said a full-fledged gold ecosystem would place Nigeria and its economy on the global map of gold producing nations.

She also said it would result in substantial revenue for the national treasury, significant employment and new skills opportunities across the board. Also, increased mining, including value added activities, according to her, would lead to better retention of value for Nigeria and Nigerians.

Owolabi listed other mouth-watering deliverables from a vibrant gold ecosystem to include the emergence of ancillary specialised industries e.g. mechanised mining, logistics and security, geophysical and geochemical inspections and certifications; improved rural standards of living and job creation.

Other benefits are the regularisation of imperfect methods, such as illegal mining, illegal exports, revenue losses; creation of a more attractive sector, which will, in turn, attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) from international companies, such as the major mining ones.

While measures so far put in place by the government to transform the solid minerals sector, especially gold, may have started yielding results, Nigeria’s road to a gold economy may not be a walk in the park. Owolabi said, for instance, that creating the right enabling environment, incentives and protective policies are key to a smooth sail.

She said the ministry under Adegbite’s charge is doing well by advocating and putting in place policies that will safeguard the investments of the private sector participants.

Owolabi, however, stated that there is the need to improve on the production of Gold Dores and other precious metal alloys in Nigeria. “The small-scale mining community needs to be complemented by attracting major miners to operate in Nigeria,” she said.

According to her, Dukia Gold has the refining platform to buy and process the production of Gold Dore from Nigeria and the rest of West & Central Africa.

Her words: “We understand that a lot of effort is also being made through international and local information, communication and education to showcase the huge potential of the mining sector and to attract and guide interested participants.

“Capacity building including adoption/institutionalisation of a mining code that will drive appropriate certification and accreditation schemes for professionals is also key. The proper ecosystem will help to attract the right kind of attention and investments, including FDIs required to place Nigeria on the map of gold producing and gold exporting countries.”

By Chikodi Okereocha

The Federal Government has announced that as part of efforts to reboot the economy, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, a series of stimulus packages will soon be made available to assist operators in the private sector.

These include a N50 billion survival fund for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and a N15 billion Guaranteed Uptake Scheme to save 500, 000 jobs. Under some of these interventions, 40 per cent of the funds will be reserved for women-owned businesses.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, who made this known at a virtual meeting attended by members of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN), assured that his ministry would support and work with the private sector to reboot the economy ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The virtual meeting was attended by the President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA)/President of the OPSN, Hajiya Saratu Iya Aliyu; and the President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ahmed Mansur.

Other attendees were the President of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi; and the President of Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Sir Orimadegun Agboade.

Adebayo affirmed that the private sector has an important role to play in the bid to restart the economy and assured the OPSN of his readiness, and that of his ministry, to work closely with the private sector in this regard.

The virtual meeting also discussed and agreed that the implementation of projects and programmes under the Economy Sustainability Plan, which was recently approved by the National Executive Council, would be in close cooperation with members of the OPSN.

Hajiya Aliyu thanked the minister for the opportunity given to the private sector to present its positions and requests. She called for closer ties between the OPSN and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, especially as the country struggles to save and reboot the economy.

She said the present situation truly presented an opportunity to diversify the economy and make it more self-reliant, and steps must be taken towards that goal.

Other issues discussed at the meeting were Maritime Port Reforms; Appropriate Gas pricing; Special Economic Zones and Industrial Clusters, as well as stable and regular power supply.

The meeting agreed on a quarterly consultative meeting of the OPSN with the minister as part of strategies to work closely with the private sector for the implementation of appropriate policies across all sectors of the economy to ensure the desired impact.

The implementation of the “Africa Continental Strategy on Covid-19” will require $420 million over the next six months, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has estimated.

The Africa CDC gave the figure to the newly-nominated African Union (AU) Covid-19 Response Fund Board of Trustees inaugural online meeting.

AU Social Affairs Commissioner, Amira Elfadil, apprised the board members on the status of the response fund and the plans to mobilise from member states and partners to enable the AU to safe-guard Africa’s health through the Africa CDC.

She informed the board that $61,500,000 had so far been raised, and urged the board members to close the gap by raising the remaining $358,500,000 to reach the target.

AU Commission Chairperson, Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, highlighted that the Union is using the economic, humanitarian and health dimensions to get through the global pandemic.

He explained: “The economic dimension aims to realise debt relief for the continent, and the provision of sufficient liquidity to get Africa through the crisis.

“In this regard, the AU Chairperson, President Cyril Ramaphosa, has appointed four special envoys to advocate with partners and the international community, providing substantial support to Africa in the face of the potential economic crisis caused by Covid-19.

“The humanitarian dimension refers to the situation where Africa is strengthening its partnerships with the United Nations and other international humanitarian agencies, to provide logistical support to states in caring for refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants.

“Last but not least, the health dimension focuses on strengthening preventive measures and health infrastructure, including provision of equipment, trained health personnel, and surveillance systems that inform government decisions.”

Africa CDC Director Dr. John Nkengasong said the funds would support the Africa CDC’s pool procurement of diagnostics and other medical commodities for distribution across the continent, which will enable the continent to test one million Africans in 10 weeks.

“It will also support the deployment of one million community healthcare workers to support contact tracing; and standardisation and deployment of common technology platforms to boost public trust in testing data, epidemiological models and critical health forecasting techniques as part of the economic recovery and re-opening agenda. We need to enhance testing, improve logistics and scale up manufacturing,” he added.

The governance structure of the AU Covid-19 response Fund Board of Trustees is made up of member states, the private sector and AU representatives.

Some private sector members of the Board include President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah; President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Executive Director, Dangote Group,  Mansur Ahmed; and Chairman, Afro-Champions, Mr. Paul Gomes.

The Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the Board of the AU Covid-19 Response Fund will be announced at a meeting to be held next week.