The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Gross Domestic Products (GDP)

  • Experts mull renewable energy as major revenue stream

    Aside checkmating environmental hazards, wastes recycling and energy storage can raise the bar of Gross Domestic Products (GDP) in Nigeria if properly harnessed.

    While speaking relevant to this, the Chief Executive Officer, Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of Nigeria, REDIN, Terseer Ugbor, expressed that e-waste recycling can be a lucrative business, but this requires knowledge and the skills to efficiently recycle profitably.

    Ugbor, who spoke alongside other energy experts in Lagos during a Renewable Energy seminar tagged: “Energy Storage,” noted that, most recycling activities require subsidies and incentives because the costs of recycling usually supersede the cost of most waste products and that is why extended producers responsibility model has grown in popularity globally.”

    According to him, “the major challenge for waste recyclers relate to financing for recycling equipment and technologies.”

    While fielding question on how government can contribute to making the sector relevant, he said, “government has developed regulations for management of certain waste in Nigeria and has designed the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) guidelines, but higher enforcement will go a long way for achieving our environmental goals as a nation. We also think a well-managed green fund targeted at supporting clean energy access for underserved people and communities must be encouraged, while subsidies for recycling will go a long way for profitability and success of the sector.”

    Speaking on responsibility of end-users in recycling and waste management, he said, “Under the product stewardship and economy concepts, consumers or end-users of products must act responsibly by insisting on products made from recycled materials and are easily recyclable.

    “End-users must also separate and dispose waste appropriately, especially wastes considered hazardous to human health and environment. Examples of such waste are plastics, batteries, electronics and biomedical waste.”

    In his remarks, the Head, Energy and Environment Desk, AHK, Nigeria, Godwin Aigbokhan said, one of the greatest challenges that Nigeria could encounter with batteries after their shelf-life is inadequate collection and improper recycling.

    Speaking in the same vein, Helmut Kulitz, Deputy Head of Mission, The German Embassy, Abuja, noted that the continued development of dynamic storage systems is proving to be vital to sustaining renewable energy growth.

    Speaking on the 19th edition of the seminar series, the Deputy Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Alexandra Herr emphasised that, “the seminar series was not just an information hub but much more a platform for bilateral trade promotion.

  • FG to save N43 trillion from importation 

    FG to save N43 trillion from importation 

    The Federal Government has disclosed that it would be saving about N43 trillion in five years, from the importation of raw materials.

    Minister of Science and Technology Dr, Ogbonnaya Onu made the revelation at the weekend in Lagos at the interactive session on the National Science, Technology and Innovation Roadmap (2017-2030) with staff of the agencies of the Ministry in the South West geopolitical zone held at the Federal Institute of Industrial Research (FIIRO).

    Deputy Director Press AbdulGaniyu Aminu in a press statement stated that Dr Onu revealed that the ministry is embarking on a silent revolution.

    He stated, “The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology has put in place a mechanism that would save Nigeria about N43 trillion in five years from the importation of raw materials

    “The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr, Ogbonnaya Onu disclosed that the ministry is embarking on silent revolution that will put Nigeria in a position to create jobs and fight poverty, adding that the big countries in the world do not have natural resources but her endowed with knowledge-economy.

    “The revolution, he added, would also ensure that Nigeria utilised her resources and intellectual capacity to add value to our Gross Domestic Products (GDP).

    “He said that the Ministry had already identified those raw materials and products that Nigeria can produce and also provide guidelines involving programmes and designs to ensure that Nigerians processionals are given preference in execution of contracts in Nigeria.

    “According to Dr.Onu, in the next 20 years we want Nigeria Firms to compete with Americans firms for jobs, adding that the interest of Nigeria must first be considered above that of any  expatriate.

    “The Minister appealed to members of Academic Union of Research Institutes (ASURI) to reconsider their on-going strike action while urging them to educate their members about the Road Map.

    “We are committed to making sure that the welfare of our workers is given top priority in the Ministry” he added

    “We are working to form a policy framework that will move our country from resource-based to Knowledge-based innovation driven economy where professionals can help to create jobs”  the Minister added.

    “Dr.Onu further said that more two hundred organised private and manufacturing sectors were fully involved in the preparation and final drafting of the National Strategy for Competitiveness in Raw materials which made it all-inclusive.

    “Earlier, in his opening remark, the Director of Science and Technology Promotion, in the Ministry, Mr Ekanem Udo said that the Roadmap will stimulate Researchactivities and ensure the commercialization of research results for economic development.

    “According to him, it is also intended to provide a long-term science and Technology Framework as well as facilitate the creation of knowledge while creating the platform to change the mindset of Nigerians to Science and Technology.

    “In her remarks, the Director-General, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Professor Gloria Elemo said that the institute is 75% ready to face the assignment as contained  in the Roadmap.”

  • Kano plans kids’ festival to boost tourism – Official

    Kano plans kids’ festival to boost tourism – Official

    As part of plans to boost tourism activities, revenue and Gross Domestic Products ( GDP ) of the state, the Kano State Government says it has concluded plans to hold kids’ festival between January and February 2018.

    Mr Alli Talli, Deputy Director, Kano State Ministry of Tourism, Commerce and Industry made this known in Lagos on Wednesday.

    He said that the second edition of the planned festival would focus on educating, enlightening and exposing children to Nigerian culture in general and Kano traditions/culture.

    Talli said that the forthcoming festival would be memorable, adding that the state government had showed commitment to make it a big event.

    “The maiden edition is a great one but the second edition will be bigger as proper planning is ongoing to make it a memorable one,” he said.

    He also said that no fewer than 1,000 schools across the nation’s are expected to participate in the festival.

    According to him, children between 4 years and above are expected to participate in the festival.

    “The students are expected to come from all parts of the country.Several schools have indicated interest to participate in the kids’ festival,” he said.

    The deputy director said the purpose of the event was also to unite all the children across the country, irrespective of tribe, state or ethnic group.

    “The event will bring about cultural integration and expose the children to culture, arts and lifestyle of people of kano and indeed the history of Nigeria.’’

    According to him, the proposed event will hold in Kano with tour of tourism sites in the state and will also  showcase the role of kano state in the history of Nigeria.

    He mentioned some of the activities for to be featured in the festival to include; cultural dance, drama, poetry, musical shows, visits to side attractions and learning of the history of kano state and its role in Nigerian history.

    Talli assured potential tourists and visitors of adequate security and a befitting tourism experience during the event.

    “The security in the state is under control and the government is working closely with the security agencies to ensure safety of lives and property in the city.”

    He said that the state government had renovated and upgraded all the tourist sites across the state to make it more befitting for tourists.

    NAN

  • Monetary policy offers limited tools for economic recovery – Emefiel

    Monetary policy offers limited tools for economic recovery – Emefiel

    Mr Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says monetary policy offers limited tools for dealing with the current economic challenges in the country.

    Emefiele said this while delivering a keynote lecture at the 2017 Annual Conference of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Lagos.

    The lecture was titled “The Dilemma of Monetary Policy During a Recession: Potential Options for Nigeria”.

    Emefiele identified the current challenges facing Nigeria as falling Gross Domestic Products (GDP) growth rate, rising inflation, persistently high interest rates, falling foreign exchange reserves and depreciating exchange rate.

    He said the CBN could not tackle these challenges with the tool available to it with the objective of changing the outcomes for the better.

    The governor pointed that CBN had always used monetary policy implementation at its disposal in controlling interest rates and money supply to moderate inflation and achieve economic growth.

    Emefiele said these problems occurred simultaneously and needed to be dealt with over a short period of time.

    According to him, the real dilemma the country is faced with is that there are significant trade-offs in outcomes of economic variables regardless of what specific monetary policy the nation implemented.

    “For example, one would expect that given the bank’s core mandate to pursue low inflation, the central bank would implement policies geared towards that.

    “In order to tackle high inflation, the correct monetary policy would be to tighten money supply either by increasing the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) of banks, mopping up money through increased Open Market Operations or raising the Liquidity Ratio of banks.

    “While doing any or a combination of these would help moderate inflationary pressure, it could ensure that interest rates remain high and may even be inimical to restoring economic growth in the short term.

    He, therefore, said that bank would need the support and cooperation of the NBA to build synergy towards the achievement of the various policy options enumerated.

    According to him, the CBN is leading other stakeholders through the Financial System Strategy 2020 (FSS2020) in order to achieve stability in the financial system.

    He said this would help to develop a robust, globally competitive and market friendly legal framework for Nigeria’s financial sector by the year 2020.

    “FSS 2020 intends to apply the instrumentality of the law as a vehicle to fast-track the development of Nigeria’s financial system.

    “As such, this is one area where the CBN would need the support of the NBA.”

    Emefiele said that one of the major lessons learnt from the recent global financial crises was the need to develop adequate frameworks and appropriate tools for managing financial stability.

    “In this regard, the Financial Services Regulation  Coordinating Committee led by the CBN, is putting together a robust framework that will adequately promote stability of the Nigeria’s financial system.

    The governor also said that it was imperative that the NBA should be ready and willing to partner with the CBN in areas like legislative advocacy.

    He said this would ensure quick promulgation of robust legislations in support of chosen policy options and vigorous support for establishment of commercial courts to facilitate speedy resolution of commercial disputes.

    Others, he said, were provision of constructive inputs for the development of robust financial sector legislative bills and other regulations and checkmating unbridled recourse to the use of interlocutory applications to frustrate legitimate expectations in commercial and financial disputes to contribute.

    He urged every Nigerian to contribute his or her quota to national development.

    “I am not unaware of the short-term pains we are all going through right now. But gold glitters after it has gone through enormous heat.

    “Let us, therefore, use this opportunity to look inwards, diversify our economy, produce locally, and create jobs
    for our unemployed youths.

    “Even when we disagree about the way forward, we should do so in good faith and never lose sight of what is important.

    “We should remain resolutely committed to the course and be motivated by the achievability of our desire to strengthen our economic fundamentals.”

     

  • The creative industry is our life and our job – Austen Peters

    The creative industry is our life and our job – Austen Peters

    Ms. Bolanle Austen-Peters has described the creative industry  as a money-spinning sector that the Federal Government must not neglect its development.

    “Art is money; art is life, art is job, art adds value to the individual and the environment,” the Founder and Managing Director, Terrakulture, a cultural firm, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday.

    She said in Lagos that it if well developed by the government, it would also boost the nation’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and employment generation for its teeming unemployed youths.

    She said that the industry was blessed with enormous potentialities that could be harnessed to solve the unemployment challenges facing the country.

    “Some of the areas of specialisation that the youths can venture into in the sector are: visuals, food, music, dance, and script writing.

    “ These areas are capable of employing millions of Nigerian youths and solve problems facing them,” she said.

    She also said that the industry was a fertile ground for the production of artistic and movie producers/directors, fashion designers, models, image makers and painters.

    Austen-Peters tasked the National Bureau of Statistics to disclose the data on revenue generated from creative arts and its contributions to the nation’s economy.

    She said that the data would enable government to know the immense contributions of the industry to national development in the areas of employment, revenue and foreign exchange earnings.

    She said that her firm had engaged several youths since its inception in 2013 through its periodic organised exhibitions.

    Austen-Peters said that the organized private sector should be ready to partner the Federal Government under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative because the former had lots of statutory responsibilities to perform.

  • Presidency: GDP figures better than IMF estimates

    Presidency: GDP figures better than IMF estimates

    The Presidency on Wednesday said that the just released Gross Domestic Products (GDP) figures for the 2016 second quarter by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) despite showing temporary decline is a hopeful expectation in the country’s economic trajectory.

    The Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu made the remarks while speaking on the latest NBS report in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande.

    Apart from the growth recorded in the agriculture and solid mineral sectors, he said that the Nigerian economy in response to the policies of the Buhari presidency is also doing better than what the IMF had estimated with clear indications that the second half of the year would be even much better.

    According to him, the Buhari presidency will continue to work diligently on the economy and engage with all stakeholders  to ensure that beneficial policy initiatives are actively pursued and the dividends delivered to the Nigerian people.

    He said: “The just recently released data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Gross Domestic Product declined by -2.06% in the second quarter of 2016 on a year-on-year basis.

    “A close look at the data shows that this outcome was mostly due to a sharp contraction in the oil sector due to huge losses of crude oil production as a result of vandalisation and sabotage.

    “However, the rest of the Q2 data is beginning to tell a different story.  There was growth in the agricultural and solid minerals sectors which are the areas in which the Federal Government has placed particular priority.

    “Agriculture grew by 4.53% in the second quarter of 2016 as compared with 3.09% in the first quarter.  The metal ores sector showed similar performance with coal mining, quarrying and other minerals also showing positive growth of over 2.5%.  Notably also, the share of investments in GDP increased to its highest levels since 2010, growing to about 17% of Gross Domestic Product,” he said

    Despite the manufacturing sector not yet out of the woods,  he said that it is beginning to show signs of recovery.

    He said: “Nevertheless, the data already shows a reduction in imports and an increase in local produced goods and services and this process will be maintained although it will start off slowly in these initial stages before picking up later.

    “The inflation rate remains high but the good news is that the month-on-month rate of increase has fallen continuously over the past three months.
    “Unemployment remains stubbornly high which is usually the case during growth slowdowns and for reasons of a structural nature.

    “The picture that emerges, barring unforeseen shocks, is that the areas given priority by the Federal Government are beginning to respond with understandable time lags to policy initiatives.  Indeed, as the emphasis on capital expenditure begins to yield results and the investment/GDP numbers increase, the growth rate of the Nigerian economy is likely to improve further.

    “As these trends continue, the outlook for the rest of the year is that the Nigerian economy will beat the IMF prediction of -1.8% for the full year 2016.

    “The IMF had forecasted a growth of -1.8% for 2016, however the economy is performing better than the IMF estimates so far. For the half year it stands at -1.23% compared to an average of -1.80% expected on average by the IMF.

    “What is more, it is likely the second half will be better than the first half of 2016. This is because many of the challenges faced in the first half either no longer exist or have eased,” he said.